The Azure League
by DragonKing86
Summary: A trainer fic, not-so-run-of-the-mill ;)
1. Chapter 01

The Azure League  
  
  
Chapter 1  
  
Fifteen-year-old Tom Anderson woke up, groggy. For a moment, he couldn't remember where he was, but it all came back to him, clear as crystal. Tom was in training camp, the annual camp that lasted ten days, held for aspiring young trainers, who hoped to start their journeys. Sighing, Tom wondered why he had to be born in this village, north of Kanto, in the mountain ranges; why here, of all places.  
  
The environment here was tough, and the people that lived here even tougher. Over the course of a year, the climate often ranged from subzero to temperatures fit for a magmar, literally; there was a volcano rather near the village. A dormant one, I might add.  
  
The mountain ranges were a freak, formed when Kanto, formally a decent sized island, slammed into the mainland eons ago. However, the villagers never did complain; food was scarce; they were used to it, the climate was rough; clothing, or the absence of it, solved this, but most importantly, there was a league, the Azure League. This elite league made the Indigo League in Kanto, Johto League in Johto, and the Whirl Cup look like training grounds for beginners. This catered to the toughness, and unyielding courage and determination of the mountain people, of whom the villagers, including Tom belonged.  
  
Most trainers down in Kanto and Johto started off their journeys with a "starter", handed to them by aging professors, or the result of inheritance. Up here, it was different. The villagers believed, correctly, that it took a lot to become a trainer, especially in the Azure League, and only the teens with an iron-hard will could even begin their journey. To this end, the villagers had devised a test. The camp.  
  
The camp tested the participants both physically and mentally, and most importantly, their skills in capturing and training pokemon. Although the official camp only lasted ten days, the real test had begun some two months ago. This was the real gateway that many could not pass through. To catch a pokemon without the help of one, and the only tool you had was three pokeballs; three chances. Some, in desperation, ventured down to the lakes, and tried their luck catching magikarps, unwilling to wait an entire year to go for the test again.  
  
However, even this was difficult. In the north, even the magikarp were not your average magikarp. They were far stronger. Whereas the normal splash "attack" virtually did nothing, these magikarp could drench you, and run off. The pokemon that the young people caught were to be their starters, and that was only part of the challenge. For the two months, the young men had to survive in the wilderness, freezing cold or burning hot, depending on the climate, which was unpredictable.  
  
Tom looked around the cave that he had found on a stroke of luck. It was warm, yet hardly cosy. The ground was irregular and hard, and the only pillow available was his arm; the only food, any scrapes that he could find. There was only a week left before the two months were up, and Tom still hadn't found a decent pokemon. True, even the magikarp in these regions proves a challenge to catch, but Tom knew, that the eighteen gyms on the way to the League would be impossible to beat, with a magikarp.  
  
Venturing outside, Tom looked around. Actually, "snooping" would be a better word, seeing as how Tom has developed a certain tendency to crouch every few steps, minimizing his chances of being discovered by his prey. Tom was psychic, but very weak. His abilities did not extend beyond sensing other psychics, and even then it took him a huge effort to utilize this ability, and the range was pathetically short. Still, Tom knew that this was an edge that he had over the others. Suddenly, he *felt* something. It was a strong signal, a psychic. Tom worked on *shielding* himself, trying to avoid detection. The signal originated from a few metres ahead, in the snow. Knotting his brows in concentration, Tom crawled forward, slower than a slowpoke.  
  
Tom glimpsed his prey. Yellow and brown all over, looking like a cat, it was napping. Tom resisted the impulse to start jumping around in joy. Abras were illusive and rare, and even if one found one, it normally teleported away instantly. Yet, here was an abra, sleeping, seemingly unaware of Tom. Heart pounding, Tom uttered a silently prayer to Articuno, the god of ice, and pounced... into snow.  
  
Nothing.  
  
*Damn!*  
  
The abra was a dozen metres away, still snoring quietly. "It had to be reflex. I will NOT give up on this. I HAVE to catch it". Once again cloaking himself mentally, Tom sprang forward, with all the grace of a Persian. He stopped, still a few metres away from the abra. *Stealth had not worked before; there was no reason why it would work now. Brute force is out of the question…*  
  
Dropping all pretence, Tom stood up, hands extended, palms facing up. It was the universal sign for peace. The abra awoke, sensing Tom's presence even in its sleep. Seeing Tom silently watching, the abra relaxed, studying Tom, *scanning* him. Tom didn't bother shielding himself. It was fruitless, he knew; he simply didn't have the power to prevent a full-blown psychic scan from an abra. Tom put his limited telepathic abilities to use, trying to convey his message to the abra.  
  
When there was no response whatsoever, Tom gave up, going for the simpler approach. Moving slowly, he withdrew some dried rations from his pouch, placing them on his palm. The abra understood. It hovered over to Tom, still keeping a watchful eye on him. Obviously famished, it began "feasting". Tom withdrew a pokeball with his unoccupied hand, keeping the motion in clear view. Trying his hardest, Tom again *reached* for the abra, explaining the purpose of the ball.  
  
*I know what that pokeball is, human.*  
  
Tom was startled. *How can a pokemon talk?* True, that wasn't exactly talking… but it was still unusual, at least in Tom's experience. Speechless, Tom just sat there, waiting for the abra to *talk*. The abra scanned Tom constantly, both physically and mentally. It observed Tom's will to become a pokemon master, to train, to collect.  
  
*I will come with you, human, in return for a favour. *  
  
Tom just listened, carefully, as the abra elaborated on its "plight".  
  
*On my first attempt to teleport, I accidentally came here. That was years ago. Since then, I have attempted time and time again to go back, and yet I found that I could not. And now, I am not sure that I want to. Back where I came from, there was a leader. Yes human, an Alakazam. I would like to become one, not to lead, but to become more powerful. It is this condition that I set for following you. *  
  
*Abra, I cannot turn you into an Alakazam as and when I want. You have to battle others, gain experience, and evolve. Though I cannot turn you into an Alakazam, I can, however, help you to become one. *  
  
The abra seemed to ponder about it. *I will give you an answer by first light, tomorrow. Be gone, human, retreat to what you have made your home. * It teleported away.  
  
Obediently, Tom retreated, trusting the little guy. *He is my only chance. * Tom resolved to convince the abra the next day. He fell asleep, tired from over-exerting his psychic abilities that day.  
  
***  
  
The sun rose, revealing Tom, already up, standing at the mouth of the cave, anxiously looking for the yellow form that haunted his dreams the last night. *I have come. * Those words made Tom smile, and step out of the cave, where the abra waited just to his right. "Go pokeball!" The red and white pokeball flew towards abra, and opened withdrawing it into a red swirl; its energy form, and closed. There was no shaking, just a "ping!" that Tom had, literally, waited fifteen years to hear. His first catch. True, he did not really catch it, but that was just a technicality. "Abra, come on out!" Abra materialized in a white flash, turned to Tom, and said, *I would like you to meet my playmates. *  
  
Understandably, what came first to Tom's mind of a vision of three abras running around in the snow, which is why he was shocked when a magby and an elekid came into view. *Both of them wanted to evolve, as you call it, and so I suggested coming to you. Yesterday, when I was "considering", it was not for myself, but in consideration for them. It is your choice. *  
  
Tom was elated, to say the least. If he had wanted to catch them, it would be next to impossible. Elekids and magbies were rare, and their evolved forms, powerful beyond imagine. Smiling, he tossed two pokeballs capturing magby and elekid, and then released them again. He sat down, and asked abra to translate for him what the other two were saying, if possible. All three knew the situation that Tom was in, courtesy of abra, who had, apparently, spent half the afternoon yesterday explaining to them everything that he had "learnt" from his psychic scans. That saved him a lot of time, and he got right to the point, saying that he only had four more days, and wanted to get some training done before the formal, ten-day camp began. "Now, lets find out what attacks you have..."  
  
***  
  
The next few days passed quickly, and the three pokemon, showing great enthusiasm and initiative from the start, had trained with each other and the rare wild pokemon that they found. Tom, without any more pokeballs, did not bother weakening the pokemon, rather, to faint them in one hit, if possible. What made it easy for the three to get along as playmates was obvious; they did not have any type advantages over each other, and were all approximately the same size, and at the first and weakest stage of evolution. The day had come. Tom returned all three pokemon, gathered up the meagre belongings that he had brought along to the cave, and began the long, hard track back to the village; back to the camp.  
  
***  
  
All eyes were upon Tom's large and muscular frame as he entered the large hall. Standing at 1.8 metres tall, he was easily one of the tallest in the room, and looking around at the dejected faces of many people, one of the luckiest as well. After all, he had three pokemon, all of which were currently out of their pokeballs, observing the comings and goings of the people silently. With magby and elekid, each perched on one shoulder, and abra nestled in his hands, Tom certainly didn't look as if he wasn't even a certified trainer.  
  
*I probably look like one of those veterans that keep his smaller pokemon about him.* Tom mused, amused at the stares that he was getting. One boy, however caught Tom's eye. What was so special about the boy, ironically, was that the boy was not gawking at Tom. Tom casually strolled to the boy, observing with raised eyebrows that the boy had two pokeballs on his belt. *Woah! Looks like he got quite a haul.* Tom's thoughts were interrupted, when the boy held out his hand.  
  
"Hi there, name's Angus, Angus Mactash", the boy intoned in an ascent that Tom could not identify. *A foreigner...* Tom allowed himself no outward reaction, but was inwardly impressed at the "city boy" who had chosen to undergo the hard pokemon journey in the Azure League instead of the far simpler Indigo or Orange League. Heck, even the Johto League and Whirl Cup combined was, and still is easier than the Azure League. *This is no town boy; he's good...* Tom introduced himself, and settled down for a conversation, trying to find out as much about this stranger as possible. The two pokeballs, he found weren't your everyday pokemon either; they were a scyther and a sneasel, none of them pushovers.  
  
Angus himself however, had a surprising background. He was an orphan, and grew up in Pallet Town, the hometown of some of the most famous trainers and researchers of pokemon the world had ever known. He was tutored by a French, explaining his ascent, and having no blood ties, decided to become a trainer at the tender age of ten. He had a pretty good build for his age, and had caught both of his pokemon himself, and had invested a fair amount of time in their training, possibly less intensive than Tom, but definitely a larger amount.  
  
"Ding! May I have your attention please!" All conversation in the large hall paused, and all eyes turned to the stage as the announcer spoke up. "I am sure that all of you know the routine by now, but for those who don't, I shall explain it once more. For two months, every one of you have tried your best to catch pokemon, without the help of a starter. I commend all your efforts, and for those of you whose efforts have proven in vain, please train harder, and try again next year, and regard this as a experience. For those that had a catch, or more than one...", the announcer glances at several trainers at this point, "...congratulations, for you are now on the difficult road to the Azure League."  
  
The entire hall erupted in cheers at this point, even those that hadn't caught anything were happy for those who did. The noise level died down as the announcer continued, "For those who has a pokemon *that he caught*, please come forward, to receive your license and pokedex, as well as some pokeballs, and you may take your leave."  
  
Only fourteen teens came up to the stage. Only fourteen, out of the sixty three participants had caught a pokemon. Once again, cheers rose for these capable young men, now trainers. These fourteen, among them Tom and Angus, bowed, and took their leave, some going home to say their goodbyes, others continuing their interrupted conversations. Angus left, silently, and even Tom, pushing his way through the crowd that had gathered around the stage, could not catch up. *What's up with him?*  
  
***  
  
Tom sighed, at last free of the crowd that had engulfed him, the reporters that tried to get an interview, the people asking how he had caught three pokemon. He went home, said his goodbyes, and tolerated his mother tossing his brown hair for the last time, and his dad, giving him a huge bear hug. He gathering up his belongings into a compact rucksack, brought along a decent supply of money, and slept, for the last time, in his bed.  
  
Getting up bright and early, Tom shook off his sleepiness, dressed, and took his pack downstairs, where his entire family waited, his mother almost in tears, his dad looking proud. Tom accepted the pokegear from his parents, promised to call often, and walked off quickly, to avoid bursting out in tears, to avoid being swallowed up by grief, and most of all, to avoid regretting his decision to start on the journey.  
  
The trainers gathered, all fourteen of them, standing proud in the knowledge that they had passed the first test on the road to becoming a master. The announcer from the previous day was also present. The organiser of the camp stood up to give his speech, "Now that only the ones worth are present..." This elicited a chuckle from the trainers. "...I shall get straight to the point. This test may be a hard one, seeing as how only a quarter of the participants passed, but it is only one of many, and may well be the easiest. Never slack up on your training, never forget that there is always a greater trainer, a greater pokemon, and most of all, always show love and concern for your pokemon. They are not tools of war; not warriors used to settle petty conflicts; not slaves to do your bidding, but your friends. Over time, you will form a bond with your partners, and I say partners, for that is what they are, not underlings. Treat them as you would a good friend, and they will obey your commands; treat them harshly, and they will be your downfall. These are my advice to you; never forget them, and may they serve you well on your journey." There was a moment of silence, after which applause erupted from those present.  
  
The announcer took to the podium, and began to tell the trainers more about the league. "As you all know, this league is Azure League has only recently been set up, but has proven to be the most challenging of them all. There are eighteen gyms, scattered across the Azure mountain ranges, and all gym leaders have been ranked among the top eight in at least one of the other leagues. Seventeen of these gyms all have a central theme, but not the last one. There will be one gym for each of the seventeen types, and yet one with mixed pokemon. You will need to earn all eighteen badges to qualify for the league. Do not underestimate any of the gym leaders, even if you have the definite type advantage; all of the leaders would have strategies to counter their weaknesses. All of you have pokegears or at least a pokedex. Both of these have built-in maps, automatically updated daily through satellites. Should you be lost, using the GPS to find your way, for use the beacons to signal for help. Should you need any supplies, they can be bought at the gyms, since all the gyms have pokecentres and pokemarts nearby. Often, the gyms will have prizes for winning, be it a TM, the loan of a HM, teaching your pokemon a new move or simply an item. Please find out if the gym that you are battling gives out prizes, since most will be very useful to your journey. That is all, and may Articuno be with you."  
  
The trainers, now completely silent, scattered. Some departed straightaway for their journey, while others lined up to ask questions. Tom did the former, glancing at the map, then advancing up the mountains, letting out his three pokemon, and headed towards the first gym, the grass gym. Knowing that magby alone could not handle the entire gym challenge, at least not yet, Tom decided to get some more training done on the way. 


	2. Chapter 02

Chapter 2  
  
Tom woke up to the sounds of pidgeys chirping and the sweet scent given off by grass pokemon. Gently, he roused his three companions, and went through his morning exercise routine. Magby and elekid imitated Tom's routine, making a fool of themselves in the process while abra just opened his eyes, and after finding no danger, popped right back into dream land. Tom rolled his eyes, but understood; abras needed over 18 hours a day of sleep, and seldom walked about; most of their attacks were based on psychic powers.  
  
Tom finished up, barely wheezed, while magby and elekid were bent almost double, huffing and panting from sheer exhaustion. Tom, amused by the two's actions, yet understood that while he himself had been doing the routine for years, the two had only begun a month ago. A month since he had left his hometown for the solitude of the mountains. A month since he had started training with his pokemon. His psychic abilities had expanded exponentially, after mentally battling abra for long periods of time. His *scanning* range had tripled, to almost ten metres, and his probe twice as strong. In fact, with concentration and some effort, he could lift pebbles, and juggle them. This last one has, in fact, played a important role in the training. Tom would levitate pebbles, small ones, and the three would use their ranged attacks to try and hit the distant moving objects. Magby's ember, a small ball of flame, often missing, being relatively slow moving at this stage, and difficult to aim. elekid's thundershock, however, often charred the pebbles, and at the same time, his range got longer and longer. The truly amazing feat, however, was accomplished by abra. Using his confusion, he easily smashed the pebbles against each other, even when blindfolded.  
  
Sighing, abra awoke, to a bizarre sight. Tom was setting up a huge rock, which, on closer observation, was just numerous smaller stones welded together by magby. Both pokemon were practising their punches. Every so often, magby and elekid would start using other attacks, smog for magby, and quick attack for elekid.  
  
Abra teleported. *What is this? Some kind of game? Why wasn't I invited? And what is that rock doing in the middle of the field? Wha...* Abra was stopped short by an exasperated stare from Tom. After all, abra was the one that went back to sleep. "Now, abra, try to raise the rock with your confusion. The 'job' for today is to break up that rock, and if there is any time left, to practise their aim and your teleport by having the others shoot at you. For fun, of course; weak, low powered attacks." Tom explained the day's programme. *What are you, crazy?!* Abra would have continued, but Tom had somehow mustered a naive and innocent expression, wide-eyed and having a blank look. For greater effect, Tom even stuck a thumb in his mouth, and drooled a bit, looking even more like a five-year-old. Now is was abra's turn to be exasperated, but still, he teleported over, and joined the game, mumbling about inconsiderate masters all the time. Tom laughed at abra's behaviour, and started running laps all around the field, marvelling at how the vegetation changed just by crossing a few peaks; from the frozen tundra of his hometown to a turf bursting with life -- and pokemon, Tom reminded himself. Over the last month since they had arrived in this valley, surrounded by cliffs with only two small pathways in and out, abra, magby, and elekid had grown much stronger, battling the wild pokemon here with a vigour that Tom found simply astounding. Having only the twenty or so pokeballs that he had brought with him, Tom didn't catching any of the common rattata, spearow or pidgey currently residing in the valley, attracted to the climate and the stream.  
  
Tom was harshly and suddenly dragged out of his daydream by a huge cracking sound. Turning his attention back to the rock, Tom found it in two, surprisingly equal pieces. Apparently, all three pokemon had somehow struck the rock at exactly the same time and place, cracking it apart. Although this wasn't part of Tom's plans, he decided to make use of it. "See guys, that is the power of team work..." Tom stopped as he saw abra grinning, knowing that this was not planned. Tom barked a laugh, and told the pokemon to continue onwards, to the next phase of the training. Abra's grin was immediately wiped from his face, but didn't protest, knowing that in a real battle, teleport was essential for a slow moving pokemon like him to evade attacks. Well, not exactly slow moving, but compared to elekid... Abra's chain of thought stopped here, not really wanting to continue thinking about it.  
  
***  
  
A few weeks later, Tom felt ready to leave their sanctuary, armed, now with a kadabra, instead of abra, whom had evolved in a battle with a particularly tough pidgeotto. Magby, and elekid, although much stronger, were still their unevolved, cuter selves. Plus, Tom had finally caught a pokemon that would be invaluable even in its "basic" state. A horsea, a rare find indeed, for a stream that was long considered by Tom to be devoid of all pokemon life except the frequent magikarp. It had popped out of the stream one day, when elekid was thundershocking the stream. The horsea had quite a bit of experience, and took all three of Tom's pokemon to weaken it enough for it to stay still. Even then, the pokeball had jumped all over the place after sucking horsea in its energy state into it. Ironically, the pokeball had given out a "DING!" just as it flew at Tom's face, and even when "pacified", hit a surprised Tom, leaving a slightly swell.  
  
Tom walked on, with his three starters walking beside him, and cupping horsea with his arm. Abra, after evolving, had become far more active, and now walked about a lot, and slept less, something that Tom felt glad about; it would be embarrassing to say the least, to send a sleeping pokemon into battle, unless it was a snorlax. Even magby and elekid's fitness had improved, and they could now do Tom's routine without breaking out in major sweat. Tom glanced ruefully down at horsea. She -- horsea was a female had only gotten two weeks of Tom's intensive training, and although was as high a level as the others, wasn't nearly as fit, and had less endurance.  
  
As Tom topped a hill, lush green fields and a large expanse of forest greeted him. But what really captivated Tom was a cluster of three buildings in the distance - the gym, pokemart, and pokecentre. Tom, although not really desperate for a bed, longed for the safety of the indoor. Tom broke into a run; one that the other pokemon could not keep up with, except horsea, who was nestled in Tom's arms. "Return!" Four red beams and three seconds later, Tom was all alone, dashing towards his first battle.  
  
***  
  
Taking a deep breath, Tom pushed open the gym doors. All his pokemon were fully healed, and he felt ready to take on anything the gym leader threw towards him -- that is until he saw the gym interior. The gym looked like a greenhouse on the outside, only that it was three times the size of any greenhouse Tom had ever seen. And the inside appeared much larger. This was clearly an environment suited to plants -- the pressing humidity, the mist that shrouded the gym. The field was a sight to behold all by itself. With trees scattered here and there with no apparent pattern, and grass of all shades covering the entire field, or at least what little of it Tom could see.  
  
"Are you the challenger?" A girl in her twenties appeared, smiling. "My name is Janet, and I specialize in grass type pokemon. Would you like to battle?" Obviously, Janet had seen Tom's belt and the pokeballs there. Not one to be intimidated, Tom nodded, listening while Janet explained the rules. "This shall be a two on two battle, the we may only battle on the field; do not venture out of the boundaries." Somehow, the mist had become lighter, and now Tom could more or less view the entire field. He nodded again, and they both got into position at opposite ends of the field.  
  
"Go!" Two cries rang out at the same time. A magby and a jumpluff materialized in the centre of the field, facing each other. The jumpluff floated around in the mists, completely at home, while magby fidgeted around uncomfortably, unaccustomed to the strange environment in which he found himself.  
  
"Smog attack! Aim all around the jumpluff! Then ember!" "Sleep powder!" Janet countered, obviously confident in her pokemon's ability to avoid the rather inaccurate smoke. The jumpluff easily flew away from the poisionous cloud, and hovered over magby, releasing sparkling blue powder. Magby fell asleep, but not before releasing a few, well aimed amber balls upwards. The training had paid off. Jumpluff, showing greater agility than expected, dodged most of the ember attacks, but got hit by the last two, setting two of its balloon-like structures aflame. Without orders from its master, Jumpluff landed and rolled around on the grass to put out the mini fire, but was obviously slightly damaged from the attack. "Tackle it!" "Magby! Wake up!" Magby did wake up, just in time to get hit by a glancing blow from jumpluff. Obviously unbalanced, magby nevertheless managed to get in a fire punch at the escaping jumpluff, his flaming fist setting jumpluff alight once again. Another two fire punches at the jumpluff rolling around defeated it. However, it was obvious magby was in no condition to battle another opponent, even though he had only been it by one tackle. *That jumpluff's tackle really packed a punch...*  
  
"Go, bellsprout!" Tom was surprised at the swaying little guy that was sent out. *Doesn't she have a better pokemon? But I better be careful; Janet looks really confident...* "Return! Go kadabra!" A yellowish, spoon-holding pokemon appeared in the place of the fire type. "Psybeam! Lots of 'em!" Janet just smiled, leading Tom to wonder just how much experience this particular gym leader actually had. Much to Tom and kadabra's surprise, the bellsprout casually dodged all the purplish beams, and even hurled half a dozen razor leaves at kadabra. A flash, and all the razor leaves cut nothing but air; kadabra was now behind bellsprout, firing a psybeam at point-blank-range. It missed. Tom started on, horrified at the bellsprout's agility and evasion. It seemed, however, that bellsprout still wasn't done; it unleashed volley after volley at kadabra, who had no choice but to keep on teleporting randomly, hoping for a window of opportunity to arise. Tom thought hard. *That freaking thing is much to agile for kadabra... how should I...* Out of nowhere, it hit Tom. "Disable! Get rid of those razor leaves!" Kadabra grinned, then concentrated. The attacks stopped coming, and still, Janet was smiling; she hadn't given a single command to bellsprout. The green and yellow pokemon stood still, while Kadabra prepared its confusion, taking his commands straight from Tom telepathically. Suddenly, a pair of vines broke from the ground, grabbing Kadabra, and a glowing leech seed hit him. Trapped, kadabra fired his attacks randomly. Violet rays flew out from him, most ripping up the soil around him, but purely by luck, one hit bellsprout, who somehow remained unaffected, still swaying from left to right. Kadabra fainted. Tom grimaced, and returned him, whispering a "You did great, thanks." to the pokeball before clipping it to his belt. *its all up to you now, magby!*  
  
Once more, magby arrived at the battle, exhausted, but still willing to battle. "Smog attack!" *Its time to try an attack that isn't accurate, but affects a large area...* The bellsprout tried to dodge, but was hit head on anyway. *Wow! Should have kept magby on the field just now...* The bellsprout's swaying had slowed; and it was showing signs of fatigue, its head drooping. It was obviously poisoned. "Alright! Now ember!" Magby, improvising, set alight a circle of grass around bellsprout, somehow knowing of bellsprout's "legendary" ability to dodge attacks. "FIRE PUNCH! Finish it!" Glancing at Janet, Tom found that she wasn't smiling, and thus, Tom did. Magby rushed towards bellsprout, its fists once again glowing with heat, and gave the trapped bellsprout a final punch. Bellsprout collapsed.  
  
There was a moment of silence, before two long beams retrieved the pokemon. *That was close.* "Congratulations. You have won the battle." Janet walked over to Tom, and presented two items to him. A emerald-coloured badge in the shape of a fern and a TM for Sunny Day. Janet smiled. "That was a great battle; you're a excellent trainer. But don't forget to train harder for your next badge; the flying gym is far harder than this." Janet laughed, and retreated back into the mist. Tom was left, standing in the greenhouse cum gym, holding his two prizes, thinking. *If this gym is already so hard, how will I cope? Should I go back?* Even as the thought sprang into Tom's head, Tom himself rejected it, determined to see the League through to the very end. *I will not give up; since I have started, I will finish this.* With that, Tom went to the pokecentre to heal his pokemon.  
  
***  
  
After a gruelling battle with a large and vicious swarm of beedrill, of which he caught none, Tom collapsed. They had provoked the beedrill accidentally, but it seems that it was for the better, on the whole. Fighting numerically far superior foes, elekid, magby, and horsea had evolved, all in the same battle. And yet, it was not without its detriments. Tom had gotten stung by several beedrill, and was poisoned. He needed help, desperately. Electabuzz, newly evolved, was tired, and cut in several places, bleeding from a few of them, sent the rest into their pokeballs, while himself took up the task of getting Tom to the pokecentre...  
  
***  
  
As nurse Joy got ready to close for the night, a thud sounded outside the door. She opened the door, and gasped. An electabuzz, with a handsome human in his hands, had collapsed just outside the door. An irony to fall so close to his goal, and a disaster, had Joy not heard the sound in time. A few chanseys and one blissey rushed out to help, carrying the five inside; all the pokemon had emerged from their pokeballs, hurt, but relatively rested and well, at least compared to electabuzz.  
  
The needle symbol of the operating room came on, and the three healed pokemon waited outside, anxious for their master, and companion. Kadabra alone sat in silence, not pacing, trying to *sense* his master. 


	3. Chapter 03

Chapter 3  
  
Tom opened his eyes, but shut them again immediately. The world was spinning, at least from his perspective. Four heads immediately hovered over Tom, realising that he was awake, all speaking at once. "Sea sea dra! Buzzzzz! Marrrrrr!" *How do you feel?* Tom attempted to sit up, but failed miserably, flopping back to the bed halfway. He felt weak, no surprising, after being literally peppered by pin missiles and poison stings. When brought into the pokecentre, Tom's heartbeat had been almost nonexistent, and had Joy not had the proper experience, they might have lost Tom. It had been, and still is nothing short of a miracle that Tom had managed to survive over a hundred jabs from a beedrill swarm, and still survive.  
  
However, Tom remembered none of this, at least not clearly; everything was still murky for him. The room seemed to be spinning, an unpleasant feeling to say the least. Electabuzz helped Tom up to a sitting position, and started jabbering away. Kadabra made electabuzz slow down, and started to translate. *After you fainted, we managed to drive off the beedrill. Electabuzz, the only one strong and fast enough to carry you, took you here. Magmar would have carried you, except that in his newly evolved form, you would melt in his arms -- literally.*  
  
Tom interrupted the pokemon at this point. "Yeah, ok. Its pretty easy to figure out the rest. How long have I been under?" *Approximately...* Once again, Kadabra was rudely stopped by a teenager sticking his head into the hospital room. "Angus! Come over here!" The other trainer grinned, and walked over. "I heard about your little ah...." Angus paused, searching for the right word; one that would be very offensive, "*incident*. How are you... oh nevermind, you look pretty fine. Anyway, what I came here to do is to inform you about a new rule. The council for the Azure League recently passed a rule permitting trainers to carry eight pokemon with them at any one time; something about giving battles more challenge or something."  
  
Tom's eyes expanded to the size of saucers. An increase of two pokemon, although sounds little, is a 33% raise, and this allows for a *HUGE* increase of strategy in battling. He groaned. As if he didn't have enough problems already, pokemon training has just gotten harder.  
  
"Hey wait a minute, how come you're here to tell me this? Why didn't the guy just call me?  
  
Angus reddened, embarrassed for "the guy". "Well... He sort of lost your number... but managed to get a location fix through your pokegear. Since I was the closest one, I was chosen."  
  
"Oh well, never mind that. So how are the others doing? How many badges have they earned? And you might as well tell me how you're doing while you're at it."  
  
"Er... I haven't started collecting the badges yet. I plan to train some more, besides, I don't want to make a fool of myself by only having two pokemon or something when the gym leader requests a three on three battle."  
  
Now it was Tom's turn to be embarrassed, as he remembered how close he was to losing the badge. "Oh... that's nice to hear. So how many pokemon have you caught? What's your current lineup?"  
  
Angus frowned. "To answer your first question, I have not heard from the others, but most of them are not doing very well. My lineup... currently is Scyther, Sneasel, Chinchou, Natu, and Eevee." Tom's ears perked up at the last pokemon. Eevees were rare, and were great for any team, since you could choose from five evolutions, as well as its basic form. To have one was a great boon; if you were lacking a particular type, you could evolve it, and immediately have one of that type at your disposal. Tom announced his four pokemon, surprising Angus with their evolved forms. "Wow, you've got quite a good bunch there. And the final evolutions of your pokemon are sure powerful. Oh well, I'd better be getting on. See ya some other time!" With a final wave, Angus left.  
  
***  
  
Tom stood tall, just outside the hospital, and stretched. *It feels good to be out of that stuffy old room.* A few more day after the incident with the beedrill, Tom had been let out. *Better get down to training, like Angus. I'm really gona need it for the next gym.*  
  
***  
  
A few months passed quickly, and Tom had been training all this while. None of his pokemon has evolved again, and he hadn't caught any; not that there wasn't any pokemon in the immediate vicinity, but there wasn't any that Tom thought "worthy". That is, there wasn't any that was of a type that Tom didn't have already, or that the pokemon were just far too weak to provide a challenge to his current pokemon.  
  
Tom continued hiking, eager to get to the next gym, the flying gym. On the pokegear map, it was just a few, closely bunched together contour lines, but in reality, it was much more difficult to scale. A mountain three kilometres up from sea level, and the gym was at the very top. A rather adequate place for birds. Tom had heard of a gym in the Orange League that was also located at the top of a mountain, and the gym leader only battled challengers who were courageous enough to scale the mountain. Yet, this peak was far higher than that of the orange islands, and it was second only to the mountain on which the Azure League was held. Tom climbed on.  
  
***  
  
Tom looked at the massive building ahead of him. The afternoon sun shone, making the construction appear even more magnificent. Words fail to describe the ivory-like exterior, and the only real clue as to the building's importance was the carving of a huge pidgeot in mid-flight, beak open, claws curved, and wings spread wide. Tom had arrived at the plateau only a few hours earlier. The time had been spent healing his pokemon and letting them get used to the high altitude and thin air. Only a few hundred metres up, the peak of the mountain towered over them. The area was foggy, and the gym leader's pokemon no doubt gained an advantage in this field, through knowing the arena layout.  
  
Tom took a deep breath, uttered a silent prayer to Articuno, and stepped in. Surprisingly, the atmosphere didn't change at all in the gym. The reason soon became apparent. The gym had no roof; the arena was circular, with a light padding of snow. This last feature, apart from being ornamental, also served to make the gym floors slippery. Tom grimaced; even the gym was constructed to suit the gym leader's type, and he or she would obviously make full use of that.  
  
A teen with purplish hair came over to Tom. "Greetings, I am Falkner Jr., the gym leader. You are very good to have beaten Janet, but you shall find your battle here more... challenging." The boy spoke with a dry, raspy tone, sounding as if he had a sore throat. "My father is the gym leader of a certain Violet city Gym in the Johto League, and I have adopted some of his gym's *special* characteristics. Tom frowned, "How did you know about my victory at the grass gym?" "We gym leaders keep in touch; as you should have found out by now, the gym battles here are far harder than those in the other leagues, and thus, we manage to inform one another of any challengers that are very skilled, at least compared to the other trainers." Tom blushed at this comment, remembering how close the victory was, remembering the bellsprout.  
  
"It shall be a two on two battle, no time limit, every where within the gym, including the sky above and underground, may be used. Any use of items is prohibited."  
  
Both teens took their positions, Falkner calm, but Tom far more nervous.  
  
"Go!" In a white flash, a noctowl and a kadabra appeared. Tom cursed aloud at the gym leader's choice. Noctowl were known to have psychic abilities, even though they were not of the type. Falkner must have had remarkably good hearing, since he chuckled, and ordered "You know what to do!" Tom grew even more nervous, remembering the bellsprout that needed no commands. The noctowl came swoopping down, silent, with deadly intent and accuracy, using a takedown attack right from the start. The fog obscured both kadabra and Tom's sight a moment later. *Kadabra, put up an barrier, and teleport away.* Kadabra nodded slightly, summoning a near invisible barrier ahead of it, and disappeared in a flash. The fog cleared up, to reveal the noctowl heading straight for kadabra. Correction, heading for where it thought kadabra was. Unfazed in the least at kadabra's disappearance, noctowl shattered the barrier upon impact, glanced around the arena, its eyes glowing red, and flew off again, just in the nick of time to avoid the purple psybeam headed its way. *Darn, it can see through the fog! Kadabra, sense its movements, and charge up a psychic. When its charged up, teleport behind it and release it.* A dull glow radiated through the fog, but Tom wasn't really worried. Kadabra would know to teleport if need be.  
  
Falkner, however was really worried at how Tom wasn't shouting commands at his pokemon. He came to two possible conclusions, either Tom was psychic, or his pokemon was even better trained than he expected.  
  
The glow suddenly stopped, and reappeared in another spot, and started travelling upwards at an amazing pace. Falkner smiled. The glow didn't stop, travelling upwards without hitting anything. A sudden, forceful movement cleared up the fog, enough for Tom to see what was happening. Noctowl had Kadabra trapped, and was pecking him furiously, giving him no chance to retaliate or to teleport. Grimacing, kadabra put its spoons together, and unleashed a huge psybeam at a range of two centimetres. Squawking, noctowl was blown up, this time propelling by something other than its wings. It struggled to regain its balance, twisting and turning in mid-air, flapping the wings. It was still disoriented as kadabra, not bothering to stand up, hastily charged up a psychic, and let it loose. The pale yellow mass of psychic energy slammed into the noctowl, weakening it massively but not fainting it. *Damn! Just how powerful is that thing! Alright, kadabra, a confusion. End this.* Kadabra closed his eyes, the in mid air, noctowl, in the middle of a now controlled dive, glowed blue also, and started to twist around, no longer in control of its own flight. It slammed into the ground, and didn't get up. Before Tom could feel the elation of having the advantage, kadabra collapsed also, the pecks taking their toll on the psychic pokemon, making it unable even to muster the energy to use a recover.  
  
Suddenly downcast, Tom returned Kadabra, and sent out electabuzz. Falkner, however, was mildly surprising, but still grinning. A pidgeot materialised opposite the striped pokemon. It was huge, and Tom realised that the carving outside was probably based on this pokemon, except that it was smaller. The *carving* was smaller. Shivering, Tom tried to remember that he had the type advantage this time, and ordered a thunderbolt. Electabuzz was fast, but pidgeot was far faster, lifting off the ground and dashing away using its agility before the yellow bolt even travelled half the distance. The attack dissipated, hitting the ground, melting the snow, which it touched.  
  
"Quick attack!" Both pokemon prepared the same attack, but after a couple of seconds, electabuzz was seen a dozen metres from where it was, and pidgeot flying away. No, pidgeot was gliding away, almost casually. Electabuzz had a little difficulty in standing up, after the impact from the giant bird.  
  
It was at this time that a fat drop of water fell on Tom. Frowning, Tom glanced up. Dark clouds where gathering; a thunderstorm was on its way. Caught up in the intensity of the battle, neither of them had noticed the sky turned dark, partly due to the huge spotlights trained on the arena.  
  
Falkner looked worried, and with good reason. Not only would the rain slow down its movement, the sky had just become a lot more dangerous. Plus, the storm could, if a lightning bolt hit electabuzz, charge it up again. The tides had turned.  
  
Tom smiled, thinking the same thing. "Thunder!", he cried, pointing upwards. Electabuzz, chest heaving from the last confrontation, was momentarily confused, but he got it soon. Raising his hands, he then clapped his palms together symbolically. A huge lightning bolt zigzagged from the sky, hitting the bird of prey square on its head. Falkner flinched, probably feeling the pain from the attack as well. Still, he didn't give any commands, and there wasn't anything that he could do anyway. What Zapdos conjured, no human could stop.  
  
Tom felt sorry for the bird, but was relieved as well. *The pidgeot is much too fast even for electabuzz to catch up with, but it can't dodge what is faster than it.* The bird crashed down into the snow, and struggled to get up from the rapidly forming pool of water. The rain was now pelting down, literally coming in sheets. Tom and Falkner, partially protected by a over-head shelter, was not drenched -- yet. *That bird is sure strong, still able to get up after that thunder attack hit it on its head...* "Alright, give it a thunderbolt!" Breathing hard from the exertion of summoning such a strong attack, electabuzz nevertheless released the strong attack, this time just letting it flow through the water to its opponent. Overhead, a bone-shattering clap of thunder rumbled, as pidgeot cried out at the attack. However, pidgeot was still struggling, much to the amazement of even Falkner, its trainer. "Thunderpunch! Finish it!" Mustering the last of his strength, the electric pokemon's fist crackled dangerously with the voltage it contained, and it charged, crossing the distance between the two pokemon with reckless speed, trying desperately to reach the giant bird before it could fly away.  
  
Under normal circumstances, pidgeot would have lifted off long ago, but now, its wings heavily weigh down by water, and weakened by the two strong blasts of electricity, it was close to fainting. The yellow fist crashed into the great bird, and with a final cry, both pokemon collapsed. Only electabuzz got up again.  
  
Two long beams retrieved the two pokemon, and the two trainers rushed over to the pokecentre next door to get some shelter from the rain. Even though they were dashing, both managed to get thoroughly drenched. "Here." Falkner held out a badge that looked liked a dragonair's wing, and a pokeball, a great ball, to be precise. Tom was about to reject the offerings, when Falkner spoke again.  
  
"Take them; you have defeated me, after all, it was a brilliant brainwave to make use of the storm the way you did. Have no qualms about the situation. After all, its only fair, since I am the one that made sure the gym was open-air, with no roof. Since my pokemon benefited from it, there isn't any reason why yours shouldn't. Take it!" Falkner's tone left no room for argument.  
  
Tom managed a tight grin, took the two items, and shook Falkner's outstretched hand firmly. "Oh, and by the way, what is in this greatball?"  
  
Falkner laughed. "That's a pokemon that I think you will have no trouble managing. I have a couple of full-grown ones, but this one was chased out of the nest by its parents, since it was too weak. Take good care of it." Tom accepted the pokemon, still in the dark as to the species inside, but shrugged, knowing that he would find out very soon. "Oh yes, would you like a ride down the mountain? That's one of the services I provide to anyone that has beaten me."  
  
"No thanks, I want to climb it myself. But any information that you're willing to disclose about the next gym would be greatly appreciated."  
  
"Ha! Somehow, I expected no less from a trainer of your skill. Oh well, the next gym is the fire gym. its located rather close to a volcano. You should know, just look at your pokegear. Just a word of caution. Don't be careless, even if you have many water or rock pokemon." With a wave, Falkner retreated to a room in the pokecentre, presumably to change. Tom stared after him, shuddering at the memory of the battle. Had the storm not arrived, all would have been lost; even with the storm, the victory was close. Getting up, gave the nurse his five pokemon to heal, and headed to the bunks provided for trainers. *I'll find out what pokemon it is tomorrow...* Tom drifted off to sleep.  
  
***  
  
Tom woke up bright and early, surprised at the change of weather from last night. He was standing outside the pokecentre, to allow room for whatever pokemon that might emerge from his newly acquired ball. With a prayer that this pokemon would help in the next gym, Tom threw the ball. 


	4. Chapter 04

Chapter 04  
  
The thrown sphere spun on its axis, and hit the snow. A second later, a grey pokemon emerged. A skarmory. Tom almost groaned in frustration. It almost couldn't be worse. Even though a skarmory was powerful, and a rare find and near impossible to catch as well, it was virtually useless against the next gym. The fiery pokemon there would be super effective against skarmory, even overlooking the fact that it was far weaker than its teammates. Tom sighed, but moved forward to greet it, releasing all his other pokemon as well to meet their new buddy. The pokemon crowded around skarmory, all speaking at once. Only magmar somewhat restrained himself, knowing full well what the heat radiating from his body could do to a young, weak pokemon like the skarmory. True, he normally contained himself, and Tom had quite a bit of physical contact with him during training, but it was best to play it safe, at least until the skarmory was stronger.  
  
Tom hesitated, the question sticking in his throat. It could be considered offensive, but would be even more so, should he put it the wrong way. Sighing, Tom asked, "Are you a male or female, skarmory?" All the pokemon lapsed into silence, making Tom wonder if he had said anything wrong. Kadabra explained, both in the pokemon language, and telepathically. *To a pokemon, the other one's gender is almost painfully obvious; you can tell by listening to the tone of his or her voice, and how he or she acts. For example, a male, especially the alpha male would be more aggressive and rough, but the females, generally would be gentler.* Kadabra paused, then added hastily, *With the obvious exceptions, of course.* Tom chuckled at this. The females for some pokemon did the hunting, and were naturally fiercer than their male counterparts.  
  
*And did you notice how rude you were just now? And to answer your question, it is a he.* This last sentence was delivered telepathically only; without translating in the pokemon language. Tom just nodded sheepishly in response. *Looks like asking that wasn't such a good idea after all... For the next pokemon, I'll just ask kadabra, or hopefully, alakazam to tell me.*  
  
Tom was interrupted from his thoughts by a curse. "You stupid thing!" It sounded as if it had come from somewhere down the mountain. Tom broke into a light jog, going over to the slopes and peered over the plateau. Approximately twenty students in navy blue blazers were in the small field. A small helicopter confirmed their method of arrival. Tom recognised the blazers easily; the school was rather well known, to say the least. *Ahh... the infamous Pokemon Tech... Looks like a field trip.* If anything, the people living in the Azure Mountains disliked the Tech students even more than the "normal" trainers. True, the Pokemon Tech pupils were masters at the pokemon simulators and pokemon theory, but that was all that could be said of them. Without journeying all over the place to collect badges, the students were, for the most part cooped up in their campus, having little experience in real battles. However, it is true that the school had churned out a few good trainers, but those were exceptions.  
  
Tom re-focused on the "weaklings". The source of the cursing earlier was apparent. A few of the Tech students were trying to catch the wild pokemon, all failing miserably. One guy was even more distraught than the rest; the reason obvious to anyone who knew of the different between the pokemon here and those in the Southern regions. The poor kid was throwing pokeballs at a magikarp, possibly relying on the fact that magikarps were supposingly very weak. The kid was greeted by a splash-tackle combo that blinded and pushed the boy a small distance backwards. He could only lie there, stunned. A few more kids were facing similar problems, throwing pokeballs at pokemon that were rumoured to be "catchable" without weakening. Obviously, this was their first time in these mountains; a more experienced trainer would have taken another approach, one that would prove more economical, for the students were wasting many pokeballs without avail.  
  
Tom called his pokemon over, allowing the young skarmory to perch on his shoulder. The others, he kept out, both for them to have some fresh air, and for company. A girl in her twenties approached, and challenged Tom to a battle. "Hi, my name is Giselle. My students, as you can see, are on a field trip to gain more first-hand knowledge about pokemon. I see that you're a trainer... would you like a battle? My students would benefit from it either way." Slightly taken aback, Tom just nodded, and proceeded to an open field.  
  
Without the customary "I choose you!", both trainers released their pokemon. A ball of rock, with four stubby limbs appeared. Tom recognised it immediately as a golem. Just as a test of skarmory's abilities, Tom sent it out.  
  
The metallic bird glided over, and landed, not wanting to expand too much energy before the battle. Not really knowing just how strong or how weak skarmory was, Tom just ordered it to stay back, and use ranged attacks as much as possible. Skarmory gave a barely noticeable nod, and scrutinised its opponent, not knowing what to make of the chunk of rock.  
  
As the battle began, skarmory immediately lifted off, and started circling golem at high speed, utilising its agility against its slow moving adversary. The golem started to chuck small boulders at skarmory, missing everytime. However, as skarmory slowed down for a swift attack, some of the speeding projectiles smashed against the lightweight steel type, drawing a irritated screech from it. It swooped down, making a beeline for the golem, and gave it a mouthful of sand in return. Golem spat out some of the sand, and struggled to clear its eyes of the irritants, all the while trashing around blindly. At this, skarmory drew back, firing volley after volley of bright stars from the pinkish bottom of its wings. The ranged attack, although ineffective against the sturdy rock type, eventually took its toll. The golem collapsed from the numerous hits.  
  
From across the makeshift battlefield, Giselle withdrew golem, and mouthed a silent "Great battle". Smiling, Giselle made for her students, explaining the battle, analysing the strategies. Tom, a little surprised at skarmory's rather remarkable skill and Giselle taking the defeat well. *Maybe not all Pokemon "Techies" are bad loosers.* Skarmory returned to the pokemon, receiving numerous cheers and good natured claps on the back. "Good job skarmory, now lets go get some serious training done, and to get you all a new friend."  
  
Tom walked off with a wave to the students clustered around Giselle, and sprinted back to the pokecentre to get skarmory completely rejuvenated before heading off. His pokemon follow, with kadabra levitating itself and seadra in order to keep up.  
  
Ten minutes later, Tom is found outside the pokecentre, asking his pokedex for information about good rock types that could be found near the area, or on the way to the fire gym. Nurse Joy, overhearing him, walked forward to help. "Actually, if you want something that's resistant to fire, one of those rhyhorn would be of help. But I warn you, they are very temperamental, prone to anger, aggressive, difficult to handle, not to mention *very rare*" She emphasized this last word for good measure. *Heh, sounds like just the right pokemon for me -- and for the next gym...* Following Joy's instructions, Tom headed downhill once more, this time headed for the volcano near the fire gym, where he would, hopefully find a rhyhorn, and earn his next badge.  
  
***  
  
Tom faced the pokemon, shivering. His plan to capture a rhyhorn had succeeded, in a way. Instead of finding a rhyhorn, he was now confronted with its evolved form, a rhydon. He had been tracking the footprints in the thin layer of dirt for weeks, and even then considered himself lucky, and with good reason. In a place where even pidgeys were rare, finding the pokemon that you sought was a near-impossible task. This high up in the volcano, few pokemon lived. Even though the volcano was dormant, people and pokemon alike tended to stay away from it, exempting only trainers seeking to challenge the gym leader, and the gym leader himself. To tell the truth, Tom still had no idea as to the location of the gym, or even the identity of the gym leader. Not that it was surprising; the pokegear map only provided the approximate location, and not even a description of the gym or its leader. This adds a whole new level of difficulty and originality to the league, setting it apart from the other leagues.  
  
Tom focused on the task at hand once more. The only downfall to the entire episode with the rhydon was that it was mad -- very mad. In a horrible rage, it charged, standing upright on two legs, unlike its unevolved counterpart. Seadra, ready to battle, stood firm, and then unleashed its bubble attack, hoping desperately to slow down the living tank heading for herself. The bubbles came, all hitting the rhydon head-on, but barely even affected it. Surprised, seadra barely had time to let loose a quick water gun, but its opponent just shrugged the super effective attack off. The rhydon wasn't visibly affected; if anything, it seemed to get even more angry. It slammed, horn first, into seadra's mid-section. Still recovering from her shock at rhydon's seemingly immunity to water-based attacks, seadra fainted. Tom barely returned seadra before rhydon gored the fainted pokemon.  
  
Sighing, Tom sent out kadabra, hoping for him to fare better against the ground-rock type than seadra. Coming out of its pokeball, kadabra was greeted by a takedown from the rhydon. He set up a reflect, and teleported away just before the rhydon hit the near-invisible wall. The rhydon, unable to curb its momentum, shattered the barrier, but got damaged in the process from the takedown recoil. Not knowing what happened, rhydon once again charged, towards kadabra who was now some distance away. Kadabra adopted a similar tactic, and this time, rhydon didn't manage to break through. It was left taking both the natural recoil and the takedown damage originally intended for its foe. Rhydon collapsed, but struggled to get back up, its arms, or forelegs straining.  
  
Tom took this chance to throw a great ball, knowing that a standard pokeball may not hold the rhydon, and remembering the last incident when capturing horsea. The "Ding!" came almost immediately, with rhydon in its severely weakened condition. Tom let out a cheer, not forgetting to congratulate kadabra -- telepathically of course. He rushed to the pokecentre, anxious to revive his new catch, and to begin training.  
  
***  
  
A few hours later, Tom asked him -- the rhydon questions, with kadabra's help, of course. It turned out that the rhydon wasn't exactly "native" to the volcano. Rather, it used to live on one of the surrounding mountains, but because of scarcity of prey, had been travelling around. It turned out, that the ice and frequent rainfall, coupled with occasional earthquake -- tremors actually, gave the rhydon a partial resistance to ice, ground, and most importantly, water based attacks. *This last factor will prove very useful... Most rhydons receive quadruple damage from water guns and the like, but this one...* Tom decided to check the pokedex for more information. However, when the picture on the pokedex showed up, Tom literally jumped in surprise, not to mention delight. While the picture showed a pokemon of different shades of grey, the rhydon that he had captured was different. It was purple. Actually, more like a darker shade of violet, but who cares; it was different, it was a shiny.  
  
When skarmory looked at him quizzically, Tom explained. "Rhydon here, is a shiny, meaning that he is more powerful than the average rhydon. Since the odds of seeing one, much less capturing one is more than sixty-five thousand to one; I never expected to see one. But now... Anyway, shinies are usually the head or leader of a herd, flock or swarm, seeing as how it would be stronger than the rest. This also explains, partly rhydon's unusually high resistance to water, even for a pokemon that encounter rain often. Shinies also have special qualities. The only physical difference between a shiny and a normal pokemon is that the shiny is of a different colour. Supposingly, the shiny would be more intelligent and have much higher stats than the average pokemon of the same species."  
  
Skarmory didn't quite understand, but he got the gist of it. The pokemon soon got down to training once more, but now with a new companion, one that is extra special.  
  
***  
  
Tom looked down into the crater, shivering. It was noon, a month after he had captured his rhydon, a month spent training and searching for the gym. He was standing on the edge of the crater of the volcano. The *dormant* volcano, Tom reminded himself, in an attempt to calm his nerves. The crater itself was huge, and it looked even bigger from Tom's perspective. Conical in shape, standing half a kilometre high with steep slopes, the volcano was magnificent. Its diameter at the base was around its height, and the crater was easily a hundred metres across. How it must looked like, with lava boiling out, with ash and poisonous fumes being expelled out of the same hole that he was about to descend. Tom couldn't help shivering again.  
  
After a month of searching, Tom had become desperate enough to try anything, and that anything was to go into the crater, where he hoped to find the gym. Tom didn't regret not going down sooner though; the month had been well spent, using TMs, and training for his most difficult challenge yet.  
  
Taking a deep breath, Tom uttered aloud a prayer to Entei, praying that the volcano wouldn't erupt anytime soon, and took the only way down, a long flight of crude, crumpling steps carved out from the black, glossy remains of lava. Tom sighed. *If only skarmory is old and strong enough to carry me down there...*  
  
Tom started his descent.  
  
***  
  
It had been a tough climb, or rather, tough slide. The steps, if they could be called that, were ancient, remarkably well preserved, but still dangerous. It had crumbled away altogether in some places, and in those places, Tom was forced to jump over.  
  
Now Tom stood in front of a huge arch, adequately lighted somehow by the sun peeking through the crater. All of the searching had paid off; the light illuminated many things, but Tom was only interested in three of the letters: GYM. There was a carving of Entei, the legendary beast in charge of volcanoes, and many other fire types, battling, fighting for supremacy.  
  
Tom smiled nervously at the carvings, doing a little bow to the Entei, and pushed open the doors in front. He gasped. The door opened, revealing a flight of well maintained marble steps leading to a huge, presumably underground cavern, or to be precise, a trainer box, and a huge, dirt based arena. There were numerous carvings on the cavern walls, telling one myth or another. But what really drew Tom's attention was the battlefield. It was the size of an Olympic sized swimming pool, and had many cracks in the ground. But the main feature was that the cracks were all filled with red liquid -- molten lava. These rivers of flame made the field a place where only pokemon resistant to fire may battle. But even then, with some exceptions, one wrong move, and the pokemon may cease to exist.  
  
A green haired lady hailed Tom, herself sitting on top of a charizard. She seemed to be in her thirties, and was quite attractive. The lady got off from the charizard, and leapt the six metres separating her and the ground. She landed lightly, as if used to jumping off from high places.  
  
"Good afternoon, I am Lisa, the gym leader who specialises in fire pokemon, as you undoubtedly already know. I used to guard the Charisific Valley in Johto, but now my daughter has taken over the job, allowing me to take up this position." Lisa paused for a while, and continued, "I presume you are Tom, the trainer who as already defeated two gym leaders. A trainer with remarkable skill, they said. I have been expecting you."  
  
Tom just nodded, not really knowing what to say.  
  
"Alright, four on four battle, no time limit. Beware the lava; they are real." This last comment elicited a nervous chuckle from Tom. Although surprised by the number of pokemon required, Tom agreed. After all, the gym leaders decided the rules, not him.  
  
At the customary ring of the bell, both trainers threw their pokeballs. What emerged from Lisa's ball drew a curse from Tom. 


	5. Chapter 05

Chapter 5  
  
The pokeball exploded in an ivory light. Loud neighing and hoofs striking the hard-packed dirt soon followed. The pokemon's mane was a brilliant cascade of living flames. The fire horse pokemon studied its opponent with a calm air that came from experience.  
  
"Damn!" This was followed by a string of obscenities better left unsaid. Facing seadra on the field was a rapidash, the fastest fire pokemon. Tom had counted on having a type advantage; and he did, but the problem is the speed. Theoretically, rapidash would be able to attack several times before seadra could even twitch. Okay, maybe it wasn't THAT bad, but in a gym battle, it couldn't get much worse.  
  
*Oh well, this is a situation that a Pokemon Tech student would never understand. In real life, speed is far more important than the turn-based simulators. In fact, speed is often a better method of evasion than double team or minimize.*  
  
Tom sighed, according to the standard rules, he could withdraw seadra and send out another. But, if he switched his pokemon, all else being equal, the enemy would get at least two free hits in. Overall, any decent trainer can tell you that its not worth it, except in *really* extreme cases. And this was not one of them. Seadra certainly wouldn't win any races, but its speed would have to do.  
  
"Alright! Give it all you've got! Agility!" *I have to get seadra's speed up. It may take a small while, but hopefully she won't get hit in the mean time.*  
  
"Rapidash! Fire spin! Trap it, then do your stuff." This last order sent shivers down Tom's spine, but he ignored it.  
  
Seadra raced away, just as the blistering heat burned the ground beneath to a crisp. Frowning at the missed attack, Lisa ordered, "Inferno! Get rid of that thing!" Tom grimaced. *An unknown attack. Gota watch out...* Aloud, he commanded, "Seadra! Surf attack! Shield yourself!"  
  
Seadra blinked, then understood. Summoning what little moisture there was in the cavern, she formed a miniature tidal wave, surrounding herself, and *pushed* the mass of liquid towards her adversary. Rapidash, in the meantime, opened its mouth in a loud neigh, and stomped the ground. It stood still for a few seconds, seemingly gasping for breath.  
  
At the other end of the field, the ground erupted explosively, right under seadra. A column of fire blasted out, and surrounded the water type. It soon ended, however, revealing a charred seadra... or so it seemed. Frowning, Tom leaned forward for a better look. Seadra seemed to look more... ancient somehow -- and wise. its fins were now appeared translucent, its colour appeared a darker marine blue. Tom squinted, trying to catch more details. Likewise, Lisa looked on, momentarily forgetting the circumstances.  
  
A loud "King!" that came out as a deep rumble confirm Tom's suspicions. He now had a dragon type. The previous attack, no longer under the control of seadra, had collapsed, evaporating into a pale mist due to the lava. With a newfound strength and vigour, kingdra released a enormous amount of water, the blast hitting a still stunned rapidash deadon. Lisa blinked, and ordered one of the most devastating fire moves. "Fire spin!"  
  
Tom grinned. He had expected that particular attack, and had devised a plan, or rather, a new move to counter it. *Hopefully, seadra... no kingdra remembers this.* "Hydro spin!" As the two spiralling elements collided, a giant cloud formed at the contact point, which shifted towards rapidash at a snails pace. It was obvious who would win, if nothing changed. Lisa could only look on helplessly; the water, if not held back by the flames would charge forward at a pace not even the fast stallion could avoid. The match was decided the moment the last attack was ordered.  
  
The boiling mass reached rapidash, enveloping it in a dense, moist atmosphere. The tornado of water, much like its fire version, spun around the target at a furious speed. It eventually dissolved into a puddle, leaving behind a fainted, not to mention soggy rapidash. This powerful, sustained attack was not without disadvantages though. Kingdra was badly weakened; and if she went down, it would cost Tom one of his two pokemon that were strong against fire types.  
  
At Lisa's end of the arena, the charizard looked at her questioningly. Lisa smiled, "Not yet, Charla. But your time will come. Go, Magcargo"  
  
The slug-like fire type materialised in the centre of the field, radiating intense heat that even Tom could feel. *I hope that thing doesn't have any new attacks. Kingdra is just about finished.* As if reading Tom's thoughts, Lisa gave a command. "Nova! Finish it!"  
  
Magcargo glowed a dull red, and abruptly released a heat wave in the shape of a expanding half-sphere. Tom could only look on helplessly, as the attack enveloped kingdra. Seconds later, the smoke cleared, revealing kingdra fainted, and magcargo panting.  
  
Grimacing, Tom sent out rhydon in kingdra's place. The sturdy pokemon gazed coolly at his opponent, then started off the battle, not needing Tom's commands. With a rock-shattering roar, rhydon jumped up half a metre, and landed. Still in the centre, now surrounded by the charred ground, magcargo could do nothing to avoid the earthquake attack. Inevitably, it fainted from the super effective attack.  
  
Tom only managed a tight grin, before Lisa calmly selected and sent out her next choice. The thrown ultraball exploded in a flash of fire. Whatever it was, it surrounded itself with a veil of flames, apparently not concerned about wasting energy before battle. *Or maybe, it cannot restrain its own power...* Tom shrugged off the thought, and concentrated on the battle. The charizard opposite was also observing the proceedings, seemingly studying Tom's methods.  
  
Rhydon started off with a fissure, anxious to end the battle soon. The ground cracked open in a straight line, pointed right at the pokemon, whatever it was. The ball of fire darted off, evading the dangerous attack effortlessly. In a rage now that its attack missed, rhydon charged. The battlefield trembled, and even Tom was unnerved by the surprising power of the takedown attack. Once again, the pokemon dashed off, leaving rhydon to crash into the wall, unable to stop its momentum. Tom grimaced. *Rhydon is getting tired without doing anything to that... thing. If this continues, rhydon won't make it.*  
  
As if on cue, the opponent used a fire blast attack, the flames shaped in the Chinese character big. Attempting to stop the flames, rhydon used its arms, straining to push the attack away. He succeeded, only to find *another* fire blast heading its way. This time, rhydon was pushed into the wall, and collapsed.  
  
Tom sighed. *In addition to loosing rhydon without doing a tint of visible damage to that thing, I still have no idea what I'm going up against. No matter. its time to fight fire with fire.* Aloud, Tom shouted, "Go... Magmar!" The spitfire pokemon appeared, looking at the ball of fire in confusion. "Magmar! Just finish that thing! You can stand the heat!"  
  
As the two fire types clashed, Tom caught a glimpse of the opponent. *Bushy tail, pointed ears... Thats it! A flareon! Now I get it. Not only does the fire coating not allow physical contact with many pokemon, it also covers the identity of the pokemon, even in battle. This prevent people from devising up plans to counter its attacks, since they don't even know what they are dealing with!* "Magmar! Hide in the lava! Attack the *FLAREON* when its unaware!"  
  
Lisa's head snapped up at this shout. Tom was not only the second person to guess flareon's identity, now the tables were turned. The home ground advantage was gone. While most fire pokemon could stand extreme heat, few pokemon could actually stay in the lava for a sustained period of time. Magmar was one of those; flareon wasn't.  
  
With a devilish grin, magmar leapt into the lava. Knowing that the heat coating was useless, flareon got rid of it, and for the first time, Tom laid his eyes on the fire eevee-lution. Some considered flareon the cutest eevee-lution, and Tom could see why. Had this not being a gym battle, Tom would have considered it dainty.  
  
The battle meanwhile, continued, with magmar attacked from the lava streams, coming out from a different spot each time. Flareon was slowly, but surely getting worn down. Although the ranged fire attacks from magmar weren't very effective, they still caused damage. Finally, flareon took to evading the attacks, giving up on trying to track down the elusive magmar. "Magmar! Mud slap!" Tom commanded, with a wink. Lisa however, looked at the battlefield, searching. Her confusion was evident, and understandable. The entire arena was cleared of dirt, either from the impressive nova attack or from subsequent earthquakes and fissures. Magmar looked back at his trainer, saw the wink, and popped right back into the lava. Tom relaxed; magmar had gotten it.  
  
Perplexed, flareon looked around the field nervously. All was still. Then, a swell appeared on the lava surface, and magmar jumped onto the bank. Raising both fists in front, magmar opened his palms symbolically. A tidal wave of lava rose up at magmar's silent command, engulfing flareon before it could even yelp in fear. The lava drained off a few moments later, revealing a fainted flareon.  
  
Lisa glanced up, surprised. The battlefield was no place to try out new attacks for the first time, as Tom obviously had done. Yet, magmar had understood and pulled it off, and Lisa gave both of them credit for it. In a quiet, determined tone, she called charizard.  
  
Without any show of strength, charizard gracefully lifted off, and landed opposite magmar. The two pokemon glared at each other, and the real battle began.  
  
Charizard started off, grabbing magmar and giving it an aerial seismic toss, adding a literally earth-shattering earthquake for good measure. Magmar got back up with no hesitation whatsoever, seemingly unaffected.  
  
***  
  
The battle raged on, with magmar and charizard trading blow for blow, neither gaining an advantage. Both got weaker and weaker, their movements getting more and more sluggish. Suddenly, as if getting a power boost, charizard gave magmar another seismic toss-earthquake combo. This time however, magmar didn't get back up. Tom grinned. Charizard, although the victor, was tired and injured, certainly in no shape to face another, fresh opponent. *its all up to you now.* Tom sent out electabuzz.  
  
"Charizard! Give it another combo!" With a sudden agility, charizard appeared behind the electric pokemon, gripping his shoulders, and took to the air. *Bad move, Lisa. You should have used earthquake straightaway.* Remaining calm, electabuzz let loose a thunderbolt -- full power. With a bellow, charizard fainted, still heading for the ground in a nosedive, but now not in control of its flight. Electabuzz landed on the ground, not affected in the least, for he had no weakness to fighting attacks, and the attack hadn't been completed. Charizard, however, was a different story. She crashed into the ground, limp. Tom almost felt sorry for it.  
  
Lisa returned Charla, and beckoned to Tom. Confused that Lisa wasn't coming to him, Tom nevertheless ran over, carefully avoiding the lava. On the way, he returned electabuzz with a "Great job!".  
  
"Well, Tom looks like you beat me. Here's the badge. I originally wanted to give you a pass to visit, and if you can, capture a charizard in the Charisific Valley, but since you already have an fire type, I guess you won't be needing it. Since I am obliged to give you something else, here is a small token."  
  
Tom took the badge, shaped like a small flame. *This was easier than the last two gyms... Electabuzz, my last pokemon, isn't even tired.* He gazed at the other prize. An ultraball. "What's this?" "Well, I received it from my grandparents, but it isn't listening to any of my commands. Since you're better at training, maybe you would like to try?"  
  
Tom took the ball, and threw it, wanting to find out what it was. A gengar emerged... At least, it *looked* like a gengar. Instead of the purplish shade of most gengars, this one was jet black. *No, not really black. I seem to see little pinpoints of twinkling lights scattered around its body. Plus, the skin of the pokemon seems to absorb light; it feels as if I am somehow looking into a void of some sort. Instead of the mischievous look most gengar possess, this one seems almost... evil.* On a hunch, Tom whipped out his pokedex.  
  
Pokedex display:  
Name: Unknown pokemon. (Please insert name)  
Gender: NA  
Type: Dark/Ghost  
Resistance: Poison  
Immunities: Fighting, Normal, Psychic  
Weaknesses: None  
Further Information: NA  
  
Tom gasped. This *wasn't* a gengar. He looked questioningly at Lisa, who began elaborating. "My grandparents found it in a cave at night, I think. Also, since I haven't heard him say anything verbally, so I just call him shadow." Tom nodded, understanding. All pokemon, with a few exceptions, could only say their own name. If the pokemon didn't say anything, there was no restrictions or guidelines in naming it; if the pokemon did not or could not talk, the discoverer, in this case Lisa, was entitled to name it. "Well, shadow is just a nickname, so since you discovered it, you are allowed to give it, or its species a name." Lisa thought about it a while, then continued, "I think you should just call him shadow for now. I can't really come up with a name on the spot." "Well, you're the discoverer..." Tom shrugged, and entered the name. The "further information" would just have to wait.  
  
"Thanks for everything, Lisa. Er... Do I have to ascend those stairs again? Or..."  
  
"Oh sorry; silly of me. There is a exit here; it leads right into the pokecentre at the foot of the mountain. Please do not tell anyone about this. After all, finding this place *is* part of the challenge. Oh, yes. The next gym is the ground gym. That's all the information that I am allowed to give."  
  
Tom grinned, and with a final wave, ascended the stairs.  
  
***  
  
The sun rose, revealing seven silhouettes laying on top a mountain. Tom forced himself to wake up, and released shadow. The ethereal pokemon appeared, gazing steadily at Tom. Tom sighed. He had been *trying* to train shadow for the past few weeks, to no avail. Shadow had not listened to any of his commands. Furthermore, being partially a dark type, neither he nor kadabra could *scan* shadow. Shadow seemed to concentrate, and then a huge psychic voice opened up, jolting all the pokemon out of their sleep.  
  
{Greetings}  
  
"Wha... *IS* THAT!"  
  
{I am what you call, *shadow*.}  
  
"I had no idea you were psychic... Why didn't you speak, before?"  
  
{All ghost and psychic types are psychic. Being part dark, I have the advantage of being psychic without being affected by psychic attacks. As for your second question, I was watching you.}  
  
"Watching *me*? Why?"  
  
{I had to find out if you were... *worthy* of my... *services*.}  
  
"Explain."  
  
{There is only one of me; only one of my "species", as you call it. Perhaps you have heard of the legendary bird, Ho-oh? It is reincarnated every time it dies; so it is with me. Technically, I, or rather my species are always endangered, but never extinct. I have decided to follow you, and, if needed battle in those *games* you play for those so-called badges. I have several centuries more to live, for this lifetime. I shall serve you until that period is over, or until one of us is no more. There is, however one condition...}  
  
"Go on."  
  
{You must, or rather your pokemon must defeat me in battle. Only then will I consider you worthy. One on one; you may use as many as you like, but not all at once. You have only one chance; no more. Should you fail, I shall depart.}  
  
Tom stared. *One vs. six, how hard can it be? But I had better remain on guard. It sure seems confident.* "Now lets see... Who has a type advantage here..." Tom ran over the type weaknesses and strengths for dark and ghost mentally, and swore. Three immunities, one resistance, and zero weaknesses.  
  
They proceeded to the foothills for the battle. *Now, who should I choose?* Deciding, Tom called his pokemon. "Go!" 


	6. Chapter 06

Chapter 6  
  
Magmar, at Tom's command, took his position. "Fire blast!" The blazing symbol flew forward at a blinding speed, and crashed into... *the mountainside*. *Huh?* Shadow reappeared behind magmar, an indigo sphere forming between its stubby arms. "Magmar! Dodge left!" Without hesitation, magmar heaved himself sideways, and took a glancing hit from the ghost attack. He spun, hitting the rocky ground on his right elbow.  
  
Magmar pushed himself up again, right into a crackling mass of psychic energy. The attack pushed magmar into the mountain, where he groaned, and collapsed in a heap. Tom winced at the magmar impression that was left on the wall, and returned magmar. *That was quick...*  
  
"Skarmory! I choose you!" The steel bird took to the air, using its agility attack, appearing only as a grey blur in the sky. *Swift attack would just pass through shadow... Unless... Skarmory! Swift attack the rocks above shadow! Aim there, but send the stars out towards shadow!* Tom had to strain to get the last command to skarmory telepathically. Aloud, he commanded, "Steel wing! As quickly as you can!" Skarmory sent a dozen stars flying right at shadow, then flew towards shadow, preparing its steel wing. Tom had originally intended the second command only as a distraction, but skarmory improvised.  
  
The stars curved up just a few metres from shadow, and as shadow glanced up to see where they were headed, skarmory crashed, wing first into shadow, scoring a direct hit. Unfortunately, skarmory did not manage to escape the avalanche of rocks and boulders. Both pokemon were buried beneath the rockslide.  
  
Tom peered anxiously at the pile, looking for any signs of skarmory, or shadow. A few moments later, all the stones flew away, propelled by an unseen force. Shadow emerged, not visibly affected. Skarmory however, had fainted. *Darn...* Tom returned skarmory, sending out his electric type. Electabuzz stepped up, and the battle continued.  
  
***  
  
With shocking ease, shadow had defeated all of Tom's pokemon, leaving only kadabra standing. Tom had not intended to even send out kadabra, knowing that his most powerful attacks were psychic-based, and would not affect shadow in the least. However, in a dazzling display of teleports, reflected attacks and a couple of recovers, kadabra had turned out to fare the best against shadow.  
  
Presently, both pokemon faced each other, chests heaving. Shadow, however was at a severe disadvantage, having fought five pokemon already, and being paralysed by electabuzz. Even its recover had not cured its paralysis. Tom had long since given up giving his pokemon commands. The battle was far too fast-paced for him to keep up with. Shadow was an accomplished fighter, attacking at a furious velocity, sometimes launching half-a-dozen psybeams *at once*.  
  
The match resumed, with kadabra teleporting behind shadow and using an fire punch. It connected, yet leaving no trace on shadow's light-absorbing skin. Shadow slammed its head backwards, knocking kadabra back, leaving him stunned. With a gargantuan effort, shadow turned around and fired a full dozen shadow balls at almost point-blank-range, right into... *the ground*. Kadabra materialised right behind shadow once again, and gave it a final duo fire punch. Shadow collapsed.  
  
Kadabra, summoning energy from reserves he didn't know he had, utilised the recover technique one last time, and slumped down into the ground, head drooping with fatigue. Tom hurriedly withdrew both pokemon, and sprinted to the pokecentre.  
  
***  
  
The next day, Tom resumed his journey, now with only one pokemon shy of a full team, heading for the ground gym. He pondered on the last slot, contemplating the possibilities. {What are you going to catch for the last slot?} Tom kept shadow out of its ultraball nowadays. After all, he didn't need to carry it; shadow got around by levitation.  
  
"I'm not sure. Probably a normal, bug, fighting or ice type." {Will a snorlax do?} "I suppose, but those are really rare... Why?" {Because you're about to crash into one} "Huh? Oof!" Tom, not looking where he was going, slammed into the black, rubbery side of a snorlax. The snorlax was **huge**, and it was blocking the road. There was space on the sides to squeeze through, but Tom was annoyed. *Why do snorlaxes *always* have to block a road or something...*  
  
Reading his thoughts, shadow asked, {Aren't you going to catch it?} "I don't know. I have a couple of heavy balls in my backpack, but a snorlax is really troublesome. Not only does it eat a lot, it also sleeps most of the time; when its not eating. I'm just not sure I can get it to wake up in a battle." {Don't worry about it. After all, a snorlax can still attack while sleeping. And, one of its more powerful moves, sleep talk, can only be utilised when its asleep...}  
  
"Fine, fine... I'll give it a shot. Kadabra, GO! Psybeam!" Kadabra held its spoons together, creating five lavender beams, each lancing towards the giant sleeping pokemon. The shafts of psychic energy hit, dead on, without the slightest effect on it. Well, not exactly; snorlax let out a thunderous snore, making kadabra and Tom cover their eyes in agony. Shadow, however wasn't affected in the least, and burst out laughing.  
  
"Snorlax return!" The mammoth pokemon dematerialised, revealing an aggravated teen, holding a heavyball. "Just what do you think you are doing to my snorlax?!" "Uh..." Glaring, the boy stormed off. Tom looking at shadow, who was struggling to hold back a giggling fit, nevertheless emitting a series of loud snorts. "You knew..." It was not a question; shadow just grinned. Tom gave out a sigh of exasperation. Shadow was very much like the other four ghost pokemon at heart, playing tricks and pranks on people.  
  
Tom walked on, thinking about the last slot, chatting with his two psychic pokemon.  
  
***  
  
Tom glanced around, frustrated. He had been looking for the gym for days. True, finding the other gyms had taken considerably longer, but in this case, he didn't have a single idea where the gym could be. The pokegear was no help; neither was nurse Joy or the pokemart service people.  
  
The area was flat, unlike the majority of the Azure Mountain Range. The ground, for the most part, was filled with coarse sand, making every step a minor challenge; it was easy to become unbalanced. Only shadow was not affected.  
  
Frustrated, Tom settled down to train.  
  
***  
  
Tom strolled into the pokemart, slightly disappointed. It had been months since he had arrived here, and yet he still had no clue as to where the gym is. A tough looking man, wearing an official Azure League cap, stepped out of the storeroom. Tom frowned; he had never seen the guy before.  
  
The man however was quite friendly, although he looked surprised to see Tom. "Aren't you the trainer that arrived here months ago? How come you're still here? Haven't you beaten the gym leader yet?" Downcast, Tom replied, "No... I can't find him. But never mind; I'll stay here until I do. After all, this time isn't wasted; my pokemon are getting stronger."  
  
"How 'bout a battle then?"  
  
"Alright... What's the wager?"  
  
"This" The man held up a small oval, riddled with cracks. Tom gawked. *A badge... But what is *he* doing with one? Did he beat the gym leader? No... If he did, he wouldn't be offering it as a wager... He...* Abruptly, it hit Tom. "Are you the gym leader?" The man raised his eyebrows in a silent 'what makes you think *that*?'. Tom just looked at him levelly.  
  
The man grinned at Tom's reaction. "Yup, I guess I am. Name's AJ; ground gym leader. Follow me." Tom walked with the sturdy bloke, going down a flight of stairs located at the far end of the immense storeroom. Soon after, the stairs opened up to a huge cavern, much like the previous gym, except without the carvings; the only special feature of the arena was the lack of it.  
  
Tom sighed, as they took their positions. "Alright. Two vs. two. No time limit."  
  
In total silence, they threw their pokeballs, or rather, Tom did. AJ just called out: "Sandslash! Come on out!" Kingdra materialized in the empty battlefield, and glanced around, bewildered. She looked back at Tom, perplexed. Tom just shrugged, feeling the same way.  
  
It was at this moment that the dirt in front of kingdra burst erupted, and a bronze pokemon sprang out. AJ looked unworried at Tom's choice of pokemon, and signalled for the match to begin.  
  
Without commands, the sandslash rolled up, quils poking out defensively. Kingdra, well trained by now, sent a tidal wave at sandslash, following up without hesitation with a dragonbreath. The two attacks obscured Tom's sight for a few instants, but as the attacks subsided, sandslash was gone, a hole in its place.  
  
*Damn!* "Kingdra! Use blizzard on yourself! Then agility away!" "Sandslash! Forget that attack, earthquake!" Tom swore, as the ground itself seemed to crack apart. *An *really* upgraded version of earthquake...* "Kingdra! Tornado!" With a grunt, Kingdra started spinning, floating in midair. The tempest, a variation of twister, formed under Kingdra's influence, burrowing into the ground.  
  
Tom's eyes widened in surprise, as what seemed like hundreds of glittering stars headed right into the cyclone, lancing out from one of the cracks in the ground. "Watch out! Agility!" *Too late* The stars slammed into kingdra, eliciting a groan of agony from her. "Kingdra! Give it a final hydro pump! Quick!" Summoning every last bit of energy, kingdra drew a deep breath, and expelled a huge amount of water at the now visible sandslash.  
  
The sandslash rolled up into a ball, and headed straight into the stream of water. *It... can't be... That sandslash is not weakened *at all* by the water.* The waterflow died, revealing to kingdra a spinning orb heading towards her. The attack connected at her midsection, with sandslash immediately rolling off. "Return!" *Shadow... its all up to you...* The newest addition to the team emerged, and nodded at Tom.  
  
AJ looked at the gengar-like pokemon, not knowing what to make of it; as did sandslash. Shadow started off with a volley of shadow balls, then teleporting behind sandslash, using its hypnosis. Putting its razor sharp claws together, sandslash unleashed its swift attack, intercepting the shadow balls, and turned around. AJ almost screamed, "No! Turn around!"  
  
But the damage was done. Sandslash fell asleep, instinctively rolling up. Tom swore. *Darn! Shadow cannot use dream eater without touching those quills... No matter... Shadow has other attacks.* "Nightmare!" Shadow laughed evilly, a horrible sound that Tom could never get used to. Shadow's eyes glimmered from a second, concentrating on sandslash.  
  
Sandslash started to thrash on the ground, letting out whimpers of pain. AJ watched these proceedings with horror evident on his face. "Sandslash! Wake up!" Miraculously, sandslash opened its eyes at these words, the nightmare attack immediately fading. With a somewhat irritated glower, shadow teleported around, literally spraying psybeams and shadow balls at sandslash, inevitably raising a dust cloud.  
  
The cloud cleared, revealing a battered sandslash, barely hanging on to consciousness. Obviously not thinking clearly, it released a final swift attack, and fainted. The stars passed right through shadow, not doing a single thing. Shadow rolled its eyes and laughed; the haunting laugh that can turning a brave man into a shivering mass of jelly.  
  
There was a period of stunned silence, as sandslash disappeared into a thin red beam, eventually sucked across the battlefield into a tiny sphere. With a whispered "Good Job!", AJ sent out his next pokemon -- a fresh pokemon to battle the rather tired shadow.  
  
Surprisingly, what emerged started gliding around, instead of staying on the ground like most ground types. Tom and shadow looked up, fighting the flare of the large spotlights. The violet pokemon had tiny, claw like hands, and for all intents and purposes looked like a crobat without wings. *A gligar...* Tom grimaced, for it was a weird choice. *AJ obviously thinks that shadow is a gengar... Why is he using a gligar, of all pokemon? True, it is the only flying ground type, and that gives it an edge, but its main attacks are normal and poison based... Maybe he wants to try faint attack, which shadow can't dodge... at least not easily…*  
  
"Alright, finish that gengar with a faint attack!" Tom wondered at AJ's choice of words. A faint attack, although very accurate, is not very strong, used mainly to weaken and stun enemies long enough to finish them with something more powerful.  
  
Gligar appeared only as a shadow, as it tracked down the teleporting shadow, eventually catching shadow. However, the triumph and elation AJ felt when the attack hit was short-lived. Shadow merely shook off gligar like an annoying pest, and gave it a thunderbolt. Not grounded, gligar took the full force of the electric attack, suddenly pummelling towards the ground. *Ha! Another few things a pokemon tech student will never understand... A battle without the trainers shouting commands, and pokemon taking damage from attacks that they are theoretically immune to...*  
  
Gligar fell to the ground, immediately struggling to get up. It succeeded, but would have been better off staying on the ground. A full-fledged psychic torn into it, making it cry out from the anguish. AJ frowned, obviously unsure as to the best possible course of action. The psychic energy did not die out, continuously fuelled by shadow. Without warning, shadow stopped, concentrating. An indigo globe of vast proportions formed, easily larger than shadow itself. AJ's eyes widened, knowing what was to come. Gritting his teeth, AJ almost seemed to force the words out, "I forfeit. Congratulations on your victory." Returning gligar, AJ turned to shadow, who was obviously straining to contain the immense energy of the shadow ball. With a groan, shadow hurled the massive attack upwards, letting it dissipate in a spectacular explosion.  
  
AJ shuddered at what would have happened to gligar, or what's left of gligar, if he had not forfeited. The two trainers walked to the centre of the field, AJ looking grim. "Congratulations once again on..." "Don't feel so bad about it. Shadow *isn't* a gengar. It doesn't have any weakness to ground attacks." At this, AJ seemed to brighten up, and his following actions to be easier for him.  
  
"Well, nice battle. As promised, the badge. And... a souvenir." With that, AJ passed the two items to Tom. One was the badge that AJ had shown to Tom previously, and the other... "What is this?"  
  
AJ laughed. "Like I said, a little something to remember this gym by." Tom glared at AJ, not amused in the least. "Alright, fine. That's a gadget that I invented myself. I'm sure you know that some pokemon are of a high enough level to evolve, but cannot. For example, a pokemon that has somehow swallowed an everstone cannot evolve, even if it is of a very high level. This will make it evolve, overriding the everstone. But it can only be used once, and the process, obviously cannot be reversed. Also, if the pokemon's level is not high enough to evolve naturally, this will not work."  
  
Tom nodded, in a daze. *Kadabra...* "Thanks, for everything. Don't be so hard on yourself. You did great. AJ snorted. A trainer didn't usually give a gym leader advice. "Anyway, the next gym is the electric gym. Better bring some paralyse heals." AJ winked.  
  
Tom rolled his eyes, waved, and walked towards the stairs.  
  
***  
  
Outside the pokecentre, Tom released all his pokemon, standing in front of kadabra, explaining what the little TM like thing did. *Of course I want to evolve! Quick! Give it to me!* Tom laughed at kadabra's eagerness, but he understood. After all, kadabra was the only pokemon in Tom's team that wasn't fully evolved, and kadabra had joined Tom in the first place because it had wanted to evolve.  
  
Silence reigned, as Tom gently placed the device on kadabra's forehead. The device started to pulse, emitting slight warmth. Kadabra glowed, and the changes took hold. The star on his forehead faded, his moustache lengthened. But the most obvious change was that alakazam, much like kingdra, now looked more ancient and wise somehow; he almost looked like a sage, complete with moustache and small, beady eyes. The device dropped to the ground, a useless piece of metal.  
  
Alakazam looked up at Tom, mentally thanking him for granting his wish, at last. 


	7. Chapter 07

Chapter 7  
  
Tom was running through the woods, his lean, yet muscular frame pushing against the wind. All seven of his pokemon were out, running with him. Even alakazam was doing his best, teleporting when he couldn't keep up, or lagged too far behind. Kingdra was last, riding a miniature wave, in a rather unique version of the surf attack. Shadow, however was levitating along, grinning at the other pokemons' predicament, most sweating profusely, straining their leg muscles.  
  
Tom, used to his own pace, glared at shadow. The pokemon was a good fighter; there was no doubt about *that*. But its personality was lacking, to say the least. Shadow was definitely not lacking in discipline, following Tom's instructions well, but it often played rather irritating pranks, such as the episode with the snorlax. its character seemed to be a cross between mischievous and outright frustrating.  
  
Tom sighed, but continued jogging -- which was more like sprinting to the other pokemon. Soon, he returned all the pokemon but shadow, finding them winded and wheezing; fighting for breath. Shadow preferred to stay out of his ultraball, unless it was just before a gym battle.  
  
***  
  
Tom emerged from the canopy of trees, the foliage ending at last.  
  
The view was excellent, to say the least. The pasture was covered with grass, with flowers littering the field here and there. A small cluster of buildings, however, interrupted the view. *The gym... That thing stick out like a sore...* Tom was interrupted by a figure coming out from the gym. *Isn't that...* "ANGUS!!!" Tom was off like a shot, dashing towards his friend.  
  
The figure turned at the yell, and waved, evidently recognising Tom. Now face-to-face, the two trainers grinned. There was a moment of silence, and then at the same instant, both started speaking. "Hi! Wo... You first." "Hi! No; you first."  
  
The two laughed, and Tom spoke. "Well, what's your team?" With an obviously mock evil smile, Angus answered, "Scizor, lanturn, sneasel, xatu, charizard, machamp, golem." The first four bore no surprises, but Tom's eyes widened at the last three, after which he frowned.  
  
"What happened to your eevee?" *Unlike the simulators, people seldom change their teams in real life... Again something that a Pokemon Tech guy won't ever understand...*  
  
Angus smiled. "Well, I sent him back to my sister for a pet."  
  
"You have a sister? I thought you were an orph... Sorry."  
  
"That's alright... Anyway what's *your* line-up?"  
  
"Alakazam, electabuzz, magmar, kingdra, skarmory, rhydon, and... WAH!!! and er... *it*..." Tom gestured at shadow, who had just teleported in, startling the duo.  
  
"Is that a gengar? Looks sort of peculiar if you ask me though..."  
  
"Er... There's a good reason for that... its not a gengar..."  
  
Angus just stared, both at shadow and Tom, until Tom explained.  
  
"Woa! Lisa gave you a new pokemon? She just gave me a Charisific Valley pass, and its one-time only, and I only got one chance to capture a charizard."  
  
"How 'bout a battle?"  
  
"Sure, since we both got seven pokemon, lets make it a full-out battle."  
  
Tom thought back to the trainings. During them, shadow and alakazam, having the best arsenal of ranged attacks, usually fired their attacks at the other pokemon, allowing them to train their evasion and speed. Their roles often reversed, with the other pokemon shooting all sorts of projectiles, and shadow and alakazam doing their best to teleport out of the way of the numerous thundershocks, embers, and the like -- the attacks were all low powered, when used during this kind of training. Also, Tom's own psychic training had come along very well due to shadow and alakazam's continued support and tests.  
  
The two trainers took their places, using part of the plain as a makeshift arena.  
  
"Go!" Two shouts rang out at the same time. The trainers settled down to watch; in an "ideal" battle, where both pokemon were of an extremely high level, the trainers shouldn't be able to keep up with the attacks, let alone give commands. Besides, giving the commands just gives the opponent a chance to know what attack is coming up, and escape or dodge it.  
  
A scizor and an electabuzz appeared, both gazing at one another confidently. Electabuzz didn't hesitate, before unleashing two -- no three thunderbolts at scizor. Scizor, with amazing reaction speed, managed to use double-team a couple of times before the yellow bolts could arc even halfway towards it. With frightening effeciency, it utilised an agility, all five images blazing towards electabuzz, claws raised. The three electric attacks lanced right through three images of scizor, making them fade out. Two "scizors" remained, one real, the other just an image; both still charging towards electabuzz.  
  
Electabuzz revealed a sly grin, and unknown to all but himself, erected an invisible reflect, preparing a duo fire punch at the same time. Tom's eyes widened; the two scizors had each charged up *two* hyper beams, one in each claw, while speeding towards electabuzz. The pearl like globules of energy formed swiftly, and speared straight at electabuzz.  
  
The attacks, instead of glancing off the concealed barrier, shattered it completely, turning the defensive cover into a thousand now-visible pieces. The "scizors", seemingly unfazed, nevertheless flinched, as it didn't manage to stop in time, crashing straight into a fiery fist. The image dissipated immediately, but the real scizor, received quadraple damage, and was thrown back by the sheer force hidden in the attack.  
  
The scizor flew back ten metres, all the while frantically trying to regain control. It landed unceremoniously in the grass, but jumped up straight away -- right into the path of a well aimed thunder attack, surrounded by three slower moving rings of voltage, a thunderwave. Both attacks hit, sending scizor back a few more metres. This time, scizor landed on ground, no longer unaffected, but twitching madly, its movements jerky and uncontrolled.  
  
With a partial quick attack, electabuzz crossed the few dozen metres separating the two combatants in a heartbeat, mercilessly throwing fire punches at his paralysed opponent. Angus could only look on horrified, as his favourite pokemon collapsed, no longer convulsing, in a clear faint.  
  
The next pokemon up reacted slowly to its new opponent. The ball of stone gazed at electabuzz calmly, knowing that it had both the advantage of type and being less tired. Electabuzz, however, showed no signs of fatigue, determined not to reveal any weaknesses. With a sudden burst of speed, electabuzz was behind the golem, smashing his fists together in a karate chop imitation. The super effective fighting move did not seemed to affect the golem; it turned around menacingly, slamming its rocky arms into the ground in an impressive earthquake. Merely unbalanced, electabuzz gave golem a duo ice punch, leaving a layer of frost where the contacts were.  
  
The golem, sounding like it was irritated, grabbed electabuzz, leaping up half a metre, giving the startled electabuzz a literally earth-shattering seismic toss, itself landing on electabuzz. With a groan, the strong electric type fainted. In his place, Tom sent out kingdra. The dragon pokemon grinned at her even slower opponent, immediately going for the offensive, summoning a wave to drown it.  
  
The water washed over the golem, but soon drained away, only to reveal a hole. Kingdra, utilising the failed strategy from the ground gym battle, cast a blizzard on herself, and agilitied away. The snowstorm, conjured by the water type, soon cleared, allowing a frozen golem to come into view. A crimson beam retrieved the iced up boulder-like pokemon, and a whale like pokemon materialised in a flash.  
  
The lanturn was nervous in the grass environment, obviously more used to being surrounded by the sea or ocean. Kingdra analysed the situation in a split second, sending out a couple of twisters. The two howling maelstorms of pure dragon energy spun, twisting and turning its way to the other water type. Lanturn, who was, for all intents and purposes immobile on land, could only stand its ground, gushing a hydro pump at the approaching twisters, hoping to slow it down. Unfortunately for Angus, the tempest absorbed the water, integrating the liquid into the attack, and slammed, full force into lanturn. With a colossal effort, lanturn grunted, and raised its head once more, even after the combined force of two mammoth twisters, and its own hydro pump.  
  
With finality, lanturn used its flail attack, thrashing around on the ground, barely affecting kingdra, who was watching the almost embarrassing spectacle some distance away. Unable to bear the pain anymore, lanturn closed its eyes, unconscious.  
  
***  
  
The rest of the fight was closely matched, and only alakazam and charizard were left. Shadow had gone down, loosing to the amazingly fast attacks of sneasel, but ultimately taking it down also with a destiny bond.  
  
The psychic and fire pokemon faced each other, both fresh, yet experienced in battle. The charizard took to the air, unleashing a few dozen small fireballs, going for more widespread damage instead of a concentrated flamethrower. The grass ignited, looking like a small-scale fire storm. With a thought, alakazam put out the blaze, then casually teleported below charizard, swiftly charging up a psychic attack. As the yellowish psychic energy gathered around alakazam, charizard finally found him, and acted to dodge the incoming attack.  
  
Eyes gleaming, alakazam completed the psychic charge, and sent it up, and concentrated again. This time however, no attacks came out. Both trainers stared at the scene, confused, which is when something unbelievable happened. High up in the air, charizard began a dive, but abruptly stopped, frozen in place. It was not flapping its wings, somehow still staying in the air. Tom drew in a sharp breath. *Alakazam is mentally keeping charizard in place to receive the attack....* The psychic attack tore right into charizard, eliciting a huge roar of agony from it.  
  
With fire in its eyes, charizard let loose a scorching flamethrower right at alakazam. Still holding charizard in place, alakazam manipulated this attack as well, sending the air currents themselves moving right back at charizard. Charizard gave a final roar, taking the full brunt of the flames, and slumped in midair. Sweating, alakazam dropped charizard. All eyes focused on alakazam, waiting to see if it was a draw. Alakazam stayed up.  
  
Charizard however picked itself up, rushing towards alakazam at an insane speed, low in the air. Struggling even to remain standing, alakazam had no time to teleport away, let alone put up a barrier. Charizard, slamming into alakazam, got back up... alakazam didn't. Tom looked on... hoping... *It can't be... I *can't* lose...*  
  
The two pokemon were returned, the movement almost mechanical on Tom's part. Angus walked over to Tom, who was in a daze. "Hey great battle..." Angus held out his hand, but Tom batted it away. *"DON'T *TOUCH* ME!"* He roared.  
  
With a crazed look in his eyes, Tom ran off at top speed, all the while muttering, "I can't lose, I can't lose..." Angus, wide-eyed, looked at Tom, and said softly, to the air, "Yeah, you're welcome..."  
  
***  
  
Tom had been tearing through the forest for half an hour, when he suddenly slumped down onto the dirt ground, tears streaming from his eyes. He slammed his fists into the ground, screaming, "No!!!". Almost in harmony with the shout, trees around Tom began to tear themselves out of the soil, plucked by an unseen hand. "No!!!" At this second shout, even more plants began to emerge from the earth, almost as if they were trying to get away from Tom.  
  
Tom glared at the ground, on all fours, with a crazed look in his eyes. Abruptly, he closed them, and *wished* that everything would just explode, and *pushed*.  
  
And they did.  
  
***  
  
High above the electric gym's pokecentre, Angus rode on his humongous charizard, looking in the direction that Tom had run off to. "Okay charizard, let's go find our friend." Xatu, gliding alongside the two, squawked. "What?" *Look there.* Xatu pointed with its talons. Angus looked, and very nearly fell off charizard's back in shock.  
  
Some distance away in forest, what seemed like a hurricane was literally exploding out from a certain point, picking and tossing trees like they were toothpicks. *SHIT!* "Xatu! Light screen! All around us!" But the defensive barrier was torn apart, the destructive storm having reached them. The raging winds buffeted the three mercilessly, sending them crashing down to the earth.  
  
***  
  
The morning after, the electric gym, and well as the pokecentre and pokemart were fine, although battered. Angus sat, conversing with his xatu on what exactly happened.  
  
*Two thirds of the forest, now just dirt.*  
  
"Why didn't the pokecentre get word of it sooner? A storm of *that* magnitude surely would have been detected much earlier on." *It would...*  
  
"Huh???"  
  
*It would, if it was natural. This one wasn't. I could *sense* a *presence*, propelling and creating the storm. One that is rather familiar to you.*  
  
"Tom? But that is absurd!" Angus was just greeted by a nod. He shivered uncontrollably.  
  
***  
  
Standing at the epicentre of the destruction, Tom gazing around him in a daze. The anguish, the fury and the despair and yesterday's lose had departed, leaving an emptiness. *First things first... A pokecentre...* In a flash, Tom was outside the electric gym pokecentre, giving all seven of his fainted pokemon to nurse Joy. In his half-awake mode, Tom didn't notice the desolation around him, nor did he register that he had teleported to the pokecentre.  
  
Angus immediately rushed up to Tom, shouting his name. Tom turned his head, slowly, as if it took a lot of effort.  
  
Angus gasped. Tom's eyes, which had been so full of life and vigour the day before, was now hollow, somehow devoid of all the sparkle that Angus was used to seeing in his friend. They talked, or rather Angus talked.  
  
The news report came on, the television brought back to commision by the gym leader. "...Sabrina, the gym leader in Saffron City, claims that yesterday's extraordinarily powerful storm that torn up a large expense of trees, was *not natural*. Stand by for the recorded interview..."  
  
Tom walked outside at this, dragging his feet to the counter first, to pick up his rejuvenated pokemon. Angus followed, not knowing what to do.  
  
***  
  
All fourteen pokemon, and Angus sat around Tom, try to get through to him hoping to register a frown, a smile, a sob even -- anything. They were some distance from the electric gym pokecentre, try to discover how the storm had came about. Finally shadow, with the help of alakazam and xatu, slumped down in defeat. All three psychics had been trying to break past the psychic shield that Tom had somehow projected strong enough to deflect all their efforts to read his mind.  
  
Finally, the three gave it another try, putting all their considerable brainpower together, attacking the same spot. This time, shadow caught a glimpse, just a glimpse, before all three were repelled, physically as well as mentally. The three pokemon were blown quite a few metres back, landing rather ungracefully. Shadow shared what he saw -- a portion of Tom's memory.  
  
***  
  
Tom finally opened up, sharing with alakazam what had happened. Apparently, he had expelled his anger, in a rather *undesirable* fashion. How -- that was what had everyone stumped; everyone, that is, except shadow.  
  
{Tom here, thanks to his anger, has opened up a deep reservoir of power within himself, one so deep that not even I can fathom its limits. I am not sure exactly how he has done it, and I don't particularly want to find out either. Put simply, his emotions have made him much more powerful -- possibly more powerful than he can control. That storm yesterday is just a small fraction of what he can do -- if fully trained.}  
  
Everyone was pale at shadow's explanation. Silence reigned, broken a few minutes later by a ringing. Angus and Tom's pokegear phones were both ringing. Tom and Angus picked theirs up; as the conversation on the line continued, their faces ashen.  
  
A while later, they put down the phones, both stunned beyond belief. 


	8. Chapter 08

Chapter 8  
  
The message was lengthy, yet straightforward. It was a recording, which explained how both Tom and Angus got the call simultaneously. It was brief, explaining the situation, and asking the trainers to hurry back. *Damn...* "Return! Now, Angus and shadow, I need you to hold me hand." The two hurried to comply. "Village... village... ah ha!"  
  
In a flash, the two trainers, as well as shadow were in the mountain village, just outside the hall where they were officially pronounced trainers. They rushed inside, finding the announcer from the camp waiting. Surprised at their early arrival, the man nevertheless got down to showing them a tape -- one that was sent over by the famous Mount Silver Observatory. The announcer fast-forwarded the tape, skipping the introductions.  
  
"We ran the numbers umpteen times! There is no mistake. A small cluster of three asteroids is heading for our moon. Calculations indicate that they will hit in approximately three weeks. When they do, the moon's orbit will rapidly destabilise, and in under a day, will crash into the earth..."  
  
"Why didn't they discover this sooner?"  
  
"Well, apparently these asteroids were originally part of the belt between Mars and Jupiter. Since the asteroids in the belt often * interacted* with each other, and nothing seemed to come of it, and the calculations involved were far too complex, no one had bothered to find out if asteroids would come towards earth from the belt. Furthermore, the asteroids are heading towards the moon, not the earth, and previously, few people had even thought of the moon getting hit by asteroids."  
  
"So what are we supposed to do about this?"  
  
"Well, there is a planet-wide call for psychics, and trainers. The rough plan, is that all the psychics would gather two and a half weeks later, somewhere in the Indigo Plateau, and create a psychic blast, hopefully powerful enough to deflect the asteroids from their course."  
  
Tom was about to interrupt, when something else did. The announcer's phone rang, and he excused himself to receive the call.  
  
"Hello? Ah yes doctor. Yes; some trainers have already arrived... Yes, I have already briefed them. What? Well that's good news. Yes, I'll tell them right away."  
  
Turning back to Tom and Angus, the announcer explained. "Well, it seems that two of the smaller asteroids have hit the larger one, and they smaller ones are now embedded in the larger one."  
  
"Why is that good news?"  
  
"For one thing, it gives us a more clear cut shot at the asteroid, and also, it saves the number of shots required. If all goes according to plan, only one shot will be needed."  
  
Tom and Angus didn't bother to ask why they couldn't use nuclear warheads. A conference by *the council* a few years back had imposed a ban on nuclear weapons, and most, if not all of them were disarmed.  
  
Tom thought, and asked his first question; the previous ones were from Angus. "Excuse me, but what is being done right now?"  
  
The announcer looked surprised at Tom's tone. "There are a few groups right now rounding up more powerful pokemon. Professor Elm, Oak, and Ivy are getting the unown to listen to their commands. Pokemaster Ash, his wife Misty Ketchum, and Masterbreeder Brock are in the whirl islands, looking for the god of the seas, Lugia himself. Moreover, Gym Leaders Sabrina, Morty, and Will of the Elite Four are, even as we are speaking, trying to find the mews. Rachael and Tobias, the psychic and ghost Gym Leaders of the Azure League, and trying to track down Celebi in the Ilex Forest. And finally, psychics all over the world are trying to get as many psychic and ghost pokemon as possible."  
  
Tom frowned. *Something's missing here...* "What about the focal point?"  
  
"Excuse me?"  
  
"The focal point. Many psychic blasts will do naught against that asteroid. You have to have someone, or something, gather all the energy up, and send the energy up to the asteroid. That person, or thing, has to aim the attack, and hopefully amplify it."  
  
The announcer looked at Tom, nervous. "Well..."  
  
"Out with it." Tom was abruptly standing, towering over the announcer.  
  
"The council originally decided to find Mewtwo, but that was rejected, as they were not sure Mewtwo would help so much as ruin everything. The second notion was to let Will do it, but that was rejected yesterday, in favour of..."  
  
Tom waited.  
  
"...you."  
  
"What?!"  
  
"Sabrina managed to find out that you conjured the storm a few days back. She forwarded her suggestion to the council, and it was passed. You are the focal point, Tom."  
  
Tom mused about it for a while, and spoke again. "I'll do it, not that I have much choice in the matter anyway... But I want to find someone first. By myself." The announcer stood, stunned, and then hurriedly dialled a number on the phone, turning away, evidently conferring with his superiors. "...yes, he wants to go on a quest... Alright."  
  
"It appears that you can, but just for the record, may I ask what you are going to do?"  
  
Tom grinned. "Find Mewtwo."  
  
***  
  
Tom sat, cross-legged in the room, surrounded by alakazam, shadow, xatu, two slowkings, another three alakazams, and five gengars. The pokemon were concentrating, amplifying Tom's probe through the lands. Tom was in a trance, eyes half open, brows knotted. Sweat was breaking out on the foreheads of everyone.  
  
The search continued.  
  
***  
  
Ten days later, Tom stood, with Mewtwo. It had been a challenge finding Mewtwo at all, and even more of one getting it to agree to even listen to Tom. Mewtwo had granted Tom, and Tom alone an audience in its "chamber", which was just a cavern, set deep in the heart of Mount Silver.  
  
*We need your help, Mewtwo.*  
  
*Who are "we"?* Mewtwo's "voice" betrayed no emotion, revealed nothing about itself.  
  
*We are all the beings on earth.*  
  
*I know what has happened. I'll consider it. But for now, we shall have to work on your psychic abilities...*  
  
*Thank you.*  
  
***  
  
Indigo stadium was crowded, to say the least. There were alakazams, gengars, slowkings, slowbros and the like in the seats, meditating -- the fully evolved ones. Outside the stadium was another matter. Less powerful psychics, both humans and pokemon, gathered, eyes closed. The battleground was similarly crowded. In a large circle, psychic humans stood, on the outermost edge, in the arena. Further in, hundreds unown floated, giving out a soothing melody. In the centre, was a small, vacant circle, where only twenty or so mews gathered; the search for Celebi had proved fruitless.  
  
Tom and Mewtwo arrived, causing a stir, and lifting the hearts of everyone in and out of the stadium, not to mention the entire world. Tom looked around; his alakazam, as well as shadow were in the ranks of pokemon, giving him a thumbs-up. Tom waved, and refocused on the job at hand. High above, Lugia glided, observing the proceedings with indifference -- not that it didn't care about earth, but the mighty guardian of the seas seldom showed any emotion.  
  
Tom looked up, smiling at the almost serene sight of Lugia soaring. He beckoned, a gesture not lost on the legendary bird. Lugia landed, and the three stood at the centre of the stadium, looking up. A huge display had been erected beside the Moltres flame, counting down to the first -- and hopefully last shot.  
  
A "Ding!" sounded, the signal to begin the first phase. The display read: 15:0010:005:002:301:000:100:00 


	9. Chapter 09

Chapter 9  
  
Tom stared at the gym, or rather, what there was of the gym. It was open-aired; whereas the flying gym had the four walls, this one didn't. The arena, if it could be called one, was just a boxing ring, except that it was larger than any that Tom had ever seen. The two trainer boxes were unoccupied, the gym leader nowhere in sight. Tom groaned. *Looks like I would have to wait for him... or her.* The Joy in the previous pokecentre had divulged precious little of the fighting gym. In fact, the only thing she had said for sure, was that it was a fighting gym.  
  
Tom settled down to wait, leaning on the side of a tree. He dozed off.  
  
***  
  
"Hello?" Tom was rudely awakened, jolted out of his slumber by a voice. He gazed up, vision unfocused. The images before him converged into a girl. She looked to be about twenty, with blonde hair and cerulean eyes that looked like sapphires. She was crouching down, looking at Tom, eyes sparkling like jewels.  
  
"Woa! What a sight to wake up to..." The girl blinked a couple of times, then flushed a brilliant scarlet, giggling. "Haven't heard that line before... Anyway, my name's Shalla, would you like a battle?"  
  
"Alright..."  
  
"How does two on two sound?"  
  
"Okay..."  
  
Shalla stood up, and moved off, Tom following. Now that both of them were standing, Tom got a good look at her. Shalla was rather tall, yet still slightly shorter than Tom's 1.83 metre frame. She was slender, but had the sculpted muscles of a dancer, a far cry from Tom's weight lifter like build. Tom caught himself staring at her hips swaying as she walked.  
  
*What is *wrong* with me... I never act this way...*  
  
Tom glanced ahead, finding that Shalla had taken a position in the trainer box.  
  
"Hey! That's a gym arena..."  
  
Shalla rolled her eyes in a silent "Duh!", and looked back at Tom. "I am well aware of that..."  
  
"*Then???* Why are you heading there for *our* battle?"  
  
Shalla repeated the gesture, and replied in a dry tone. "What's wrong with it being a gym arena?"  
  
"Well for one thing, shouldn't we be asking permission at least, from the gym leader?"  
  
Shalla stared at Tom incredulously, and started to giggle again, a pleasant sound that Tom found rather infectious. "Sorry, I forgot to mention it... I had no idea that you were unaware."  
  
"What?!" Tom was, by now puzzled at Shalla's strange behaviour, whom he had taken to be a regular trainer.  
  
"I'm the..."  
  
Tom stared; the words bubbled from the depths of Shalla's consciousness even before she spoke it. "*You?* The *gym leader*?"  
  
Shalla looked miffed, obviously offended.  
  
The frown was not lost on Tom, and he hastily added, "Well, you being a lady and all, and your age..." He never got the chance to finish the sentence, Shalla crossly barging in. "So what if I'm a girl? So's Janet and Lisa, not to mention many others. As for my age, I'm fifteen, and Falkner's not much older than me..."  
  
"But... You don't look like a fighter..."  
  
"*Young man*, you obviously have a severe misunderstanding about the art of fighting. It does not necessarily require brute strength. Most of the time, technique, endurance, and instinct are more important."  
  
Tom blinked at the use of "young man". After all, he was taller than Shalla, and older by a year or so as well. *Never mind, I'm after the badge...* "Okay, okay; fine so I was wrong." Tom followed up with another remark, one with just a tint of sarcasm, "I am soooo sorry, would you forgive me?"  
  
The gym leader glared at Tom, and said icily, "Would you be so kind as to introduce yourself? and we can start the battle."  
  
Tom mouthed a wordless "ooops". *What a great start...* "I'm Tom."  
  
Shalla just stood there, waiting. Then, realising that Tom was not about to say anything else, stated the rules. "Standard gym rules, two on two."  
  
In utter silence, the pokemon were sent out. Alakazam appeared, facing what appeared to be just a bundle of muscle. The opponent looked back at Shalla, "Champ?" Alakazam translated for Tom, but Shalla obviously understood her pokemon and giggled. *Another one?*  
  
The machamp started off by slamming its fists into the ground. Tom, expecting an earthquake attack, started to command alakazam. *Levitate up!* However, the soft base of the boxing ring totally changed the attack, absorbing the impact. What happened next was incredible, to say the least. The giant fighting type, not known to be agile, flew up, bewildering Tom for a second. *The floor seemed to absorb the attack, but in reality, was just bouncing the force straight back at machamp, letting it jump higher than it could with its legs alone. All right, since there are a couple of surprises in this arena, lets play this my way. Alakazam! Immobilise it, then give it a couple of psybeams!*  
  
Tom wanted to conclude this first battle as quickly as possible, striving to keep alakazam for the next opponent. Understandable; the only other pokemon with an advantage over fighting types was shadow, and Tom *really* did not want shadow to battle, considering its temperament.  
  
While Tom was distracted with thought of his last gym battle however, the current one was still ongoing. Machamp bounced towards alakazam, totally evading the indigo shafts of psychic energy.  
  
*What are you waiting for? Quick! Immobilise it!*  
  
A thoroughly frustrated and confused telepathic voice came back to him. *I *can't*!*  
  
Swiftly Tom *scanned* the arena for telekinetic impulses. He picked up some on Shalla; only enough for her to be a weak psychic. He sensed some from alakazam; expected. Finally, Tom gathered a faint signal from *machamp*... What the hell...*  
  
*Get rid of that barrier!*  
  
*I can't...*  
  
While Tom and alakazam were occupied bickering, machamp was preparing for an attack. Raising all four of its arms in the air a lavender sphere formed, swelling larger with each passing moment, until it was the size of an abra. *It can't be...* With a tight grin, machamp hurled the globe, now crackling with the energy it contained.  
  
The shadow ball accelerated, seeming like a blur. Still distracted by the dispute, alakazam failed to notice the attack in time, and was pushed back into the elastic ropes that all rings were equipped with. Groaning in anguish, alakazam was crushed between the mauve orb and the stretched cables. *Teleport! Recover! Barrier! Anything!* In his panic, Tom called for three moves at once, none of which alakazam could concentrate enough to utilize. The psychic type slumped, his head drooping down, unconscious. "Return!" *How *could* this happen? One of my most powerful pokemon, losing despite a type advantage...*  
  
Tom grinned; his vengeance would be swift -- and violent. He tossed the ultraball, releasing the evil ghost -- and regretted the decision the moment the capture ball left his hand. Nevertheless, he kept on with the match. *I'll make sure nothing happens...*  
  
Shadow looked back at its master, observing the blaze of revenge in his eyes. Shadow grinned, a sight that would make kids run away screaming. This was more to its liking -- the master's dark side, finally unrestrained, showing itself.  
  
Bringing the same strategy into play, machamp bounced around, throwing another shadow ball. With calm indifference, shadow raised its stubby arms, absorbing the energy, sending it back in a golden mass -- a psychic. *Normally, a psychic needs to be charged up, but it looks like shadow is using the shadow ball as the charge. Impressive. I hope nothing goes wrong.*  
  
The machamp, not expecting the attack to back fire, received the full brunt, toppling down. *It went down in one hit, and shadow is barely sapped.*  
  
Shadow advanced on the fighter's unconscious form, preparing a massive psychic attack. The cobalt aura surrounding it was unbearably harsh, and opposite, Shalla's eyes widened. She hastily returned machamp, previously in shock over both the failure of the attack, which she believed to be super effective against a gengar, and the one-hit KO nature of shadow's strike.  
  
A tyrogue appeared in the ring, with a blank look plastered onto its face. It wasn't very muscular, but Tom knew without a doubt, that it packed a lot of punch. Tom felt a irrepressible shiver crawl up his spine, as the sequence of the last battle with an unevolved pokemon came to mind -- the bellsprout.  
  
The match started, with shadow unleashing the pent-up psychic. Tyrogue glowed... But nothing happened. Even more surprisingly, shadow was slammed back into the cords, and pummelled by psybeams. *That thing seems to be doing the same thing shadow did -- absorbing energy, then using it for itself... But something is wrong... Psychic attacks are not supposed to work on shadow... And this move, some variation of counter, I suppose.*  
  
Unfortunately for Shalla however, the psybeams just passed right through shadow, who had not bothered to dodge them. Shalla stood, dumbfounded... Her shock rippled across the arena, and Tom effortlessly read it. *But... Gengars are not supposed to be resistant to psychic attacks, much less immune to them... unless... This is NOT a gengar...* Tom chuckled at this, *she sure is quick.*  
  
The battle, meanwhile was not going well for tyrogue. Although it had avoided and sent back the initial psychic, its only other attacks were ghost, fighting, normal types, all of which it found not effective against shadow, who was, by now bored with the whole affair. Tyrogue had been hit by quite a number of psybeams, severely weakened.  
  
{The more that hit you, the more that will. Now let's finish this.}  
  
Shadow teleported behind tyrogue, who was by now far too tired to evade being enveloped by a mass of psychic energy that immobilised it. *Shit... Death trap. Hope it survives this... Shadow, go easy on him.* {No way.}  
  
If anything the attack seemed to intensify, with the orb growing larger and larger.  
  
*Oh no...* Shalla mirrored Tom's thoughts, horror-struck.  
  
With a raise of its hands, shadow formed the reflective barrier, and released its hold on the power.  
  
Once again, the energy flashed, swirling around in the sphere in turmoil, with tyrogue caught in it. Unlike the previous victim however, tyrogue did not -- could not try to escape, and fainted. With a sadistic streak, shadow allowed the attack to continue, eliciting groans of agony from tyrogue even in its state.  
  
"No!!!" Tom returned shadow, and withdrew from the trainer box. The attack automatically faded, its starter gone. Shalla, shocked at her lose, now turned her attention to Tom, flabbergasted. After all, according to official gym rules, should the trainer return his or her pokemon before the winner is declared, be it by a judge or the gym leader, the battle is considered by default void, and the "victory" goes to the gym leader.  
  
"Wait." Tom stopped in mid stride, and asked in a flat tone, without turning back, "What."  
  
"Don't you want your badge?"  
  
"You know the rules as well as I do. Besides, nothing's worth getting a pokemon killed." Tom got ready to go, pacing towards the pokecentre before uncertainty claimed him.  
  
***  
  
"Nurse Joy, what's the next gym?"  
  
"Have you defeated this one?" Joy had a questioning look etched on her pretty face.  
  
"Not exactly."  
  
"Well then, you have not beat these gyms in the order specified you know... That's part of the challenge."  
  
"I see." Tom stormed off for some more training, determined not to use shadow in their next battle.  
  
***  
  
"I challenge you, Shalla." Another fortnight had passed, during which time Tom had trained rigorously.  
  
"I'm sorry Tom, I'll have to deny you that honour."  
  
Tom just waited in silence.  
  
"Well, I think you have already earned this badge."  
  
Again, Tom waited, for further clarifications.  
  
"For one thing, you have shown that you have the skills to beat me, and even without the advantage of surprise, I think that the training you have done in these weeks would allow you to win again without too much trouble."  
  
"What's the other reason?"  
  
"Actually there are two more. You have shown that you believe that a pokemon life is far more important than your gym challenge, and thus I think your pokemon are fiercely loyal to you, and will do their best."  
  
"And the last..."  
  
Shalla hesitated, reluctance evident in her speech. "Well, I am not longer the gym leader."  
  
"What?" Tom gaped at Shalla, unable to believe it. Not surprising; in the Azure League, all gyms had to be approved by the League committee, and the gym leaders as well. The committee had the final say, not the gym leader.  
  
"I've handed over the run of things here to two of my disciples; I am sure they won't let me down. After all, I trained them myself."  
  
"Then you don't have the authority to give me the badge."  
  
Shalla's giggled, eyes sparkling. *Now here's a person that smiles with her eyes...* "Ahh, but I do. You see, you battled me before I handed over the gym leadership. I wanted to give you the badge previously, but you ran off too fast. And yes, in case you are wondering, it is approved."  
  
"I didn't run..."  
  
Exasperated, Shalla rolled her eyes, and snorted. "That was just an expression."  
  
"Oh."  
  
*Great line Tom, now she thinks that you are an idiot.* Tom glared at alakazam, whom Tom had kept out of his pokeball. Sometimes, having a psychic pokemon around could be such a pain.  
  
"Oh yes. One more thing. I would like to go with you."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
*Another great response Tom, at this rate, she'll ask *you* to marry her.* Alakazam's telepathic voice was literally dripping with sarcasm, something he was, unfortunately becoming very good at.  
  
*Shut up!*  
  
"Well, I want to see the way you battle, and besides, I have always wanted to see the rest of this place again. The last time I travelled around, much like you, was two years ago."  
  
"Oh, I see."  
  
*Another...*  
  
*Shut up!*  
  
***  
  
Tom was more or less drowned in sweat; Shalla however was barely wheezed. The other pokemon were long since withdrawn, unable to keep up. Tom and Shalla were jogging towards the next gym, with long, loping strides. Actually dashing would be a better word; they were sprinting, rushing through the terrain at speeds that Tom seldom achieved. *Oh brother, on top of everything else, she's a better runner? Well at least I'm a better trainer and psychic.*  
  
It didn't take Tom long to find out that Shalla was a weak psychic, too weak though to do much with her abilities, much like Tom when he first started training.  
  
The woodlands were left behind, leaving only a never-ending pasture, and the occasional trees. The scenery was amazing; flowers abounding in the landscape, hills in the distance, and puffy white clouds floating serenely in the azure sky. In fact, the only thing that a person could complain of in this aspect was the bore that one felt after observing this -- and only this for half a day.  
  
Another thing contributed to Tom's dilemma. There was no shade -- and Tom was literally pouring out sweat, his face flushed and his thighs, calves and just about every other muscle shrieking for a break. They had been running at a rapid pace -- one that even Tom was accustomed to. He wanted to call for a rest, but the last thing he needed was to seem weak in Shalla's eyes.  
  
Tom hurried on, following Shalla's lead.  
  
***  
  
They were in the pokecentre of the bug gym, resting -- actually Tom was the one resting. Shalla wasn't visibly affected by the long journey, choosing instead to go for some light exercise in the gymnasium, to finally stretch her muscles she said.  
  
Tom finally recovered enough to have a look at Shalla. When he walked into the gym, it seemed that only Shalla was exercising -- everyone else was staring at her, and they were not ogling; well most of them weren't. Tom followed their example.  
  
Shalla was testing the weights -- and by testing, she was just raising each weight a couple of times, muttering "too light" every so often. She finally settled down to her routine, doing frontal raises, cable rows, dumbbell shoulder presses with ease -- even with some of the largest weights. Machamp was behind her, getting ready to assist in case Shalla couldn't take it.  
  
***  
  
"I'll challenge the gym leader today. Coming?"  
  
"Of course. That's why I came along in the first place."  
  
Tom muttered under his breath, "Then why does it seem that I am going along with you..." Tom was thinking of the running the day before.  
  
"Excuse me?"  
  
"Nothing."  
  
Shalla gave Tom a weird look, and went over to the gym, intending to have a chat with the leader before the challenge. 


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10  
  
Tom stood, looking at the gym, or rather, what he took to be the gym. In reality, the only clue was the large "GYM" engraved into a limestone arch. The arch had ivy creeping all over it, but the inscription was clear enough.  
  
The rest of the gym was a large garden, with a meadow, the size of a standard gym arena. There were two trainer boxes, but they were not raised. Rather, they were just small areas marked in the meadow. There were also seats at the sides of the arena, protected by a transparent shield that was obviously tougher than it looked, what with all the etches and scars from previous battles on it.  
  
Tom strolled in, glancing at the sights. Shalla was chatting with another girl, one that somewhat resembled her. The two glanced glimpsed Tom, and giggled, whispering to each other. *I sure hope Shalla didn't say anything embarrassing about me.*  
  
Tom came closer, and both girls got up, heading towards the centre of the field. Tom met them there, getting a closer look at the other girl. She was much like Shalla, with similar azure eyes, blonde hair, and the same trim stature. However, her physique was less muscular, and was slightly shorter than Shalla.  
  
"Tom, this is Shale, my cousin. She's the gym leader here..."  
  
"You? The gy..." Tom was cut off in mid sentence by a glare from Shalla, who hissed under her breath, "Watch it!"  
  
Shale giggled, a few notches more shrill than Shalla's. "Alright, this shall be a four on four battle, standard gym rules, no time limit, no items allowed."  
  
"Okay..."  
  
"Ah yes, all four pokemon shall fight at the same time."  
  
"Wha... Never mind. I accept."  
  
"Come on out! All of you!" Four pokemon materialised, but for a few moments, Tom was unable to see anything but a few translucent emerald streaks, so perfectly did they blend into the field. Tom's eyes soon adapted, revealing four jade green pokemon, scythes gleaming in the morning sun, translucent wings fluttering slightly in the cool breeze. *Scythers... Smart choice. They are almost perfectly camouflaged in this field, a fair advantage over their evolved counterparts. Being the same species, they probably work together far better than any other combination can...*  
  
"Let's win this guys."  
  
Tom sent out magmar, electabuzz, alakazam, and skarmory. All four gazed around in confusion, and turned back to Tom. With a "go ahead" nod from Shale, Tom explained the proceedings, as well as outlining a brief plan.  
  
"...Alakazam, you go defensive. Set up a reflect around yourself, magmar and electabuzz, maintain it, and unless the other two are attacking, keep it going strong. Electabuzz and magmar, you two try to attack the scythers once there are near the barrier, but concentrate on one each time. Skarmory, you fly high and use agility. Swift those scythers, but that's just to distract them. Understood? Alright then go!"  
  
The eight pokemon took their positions, and all three trainers settled down to observe the battle. After all, it was impossible to control the entire match when so many were involved.  
  
The scythers started off with double team, conjuring sixteen blur images of themselves, surrounding the three, now protected by a defensive barrier. The twenty scythers began whirling, and their scythes abruptly sharpened, gleaming. *Shit!*  
  
All twenty charged, leaving only vague impressions of them, such was their speed. Alakazam strained, and the reflect now became visible, but the scythers never hesitated. They literally hurled themselves forward, and clashed with the barrier, scythes first. The screen buckled, but did not yield.  
  
Alakazam, by now, was slumped, unable even to expand energy standing. With a victorious snarl, the scythers slashed the shield, shattering it into a thousand glass-like shards. *Now*, the real struggle began.  
  
*This isn't the way its supposed to go...* Tom was stunned. He had not expected alakazam to be able to hold off all four scythers, but neither did he predict the devastating attacks to penetrate the panel so soon. The worse part is, that skarmory didn't even manage to get off any swift attack.  
  
The battle was intense, with pokemon having no choice but to use melee fire attacks, which all but skarmory knew. High above, dazzling star-shaped projectiles streaked towards the earth, heading right for a particular scyther. The attacks however, passed right through the image, and it collapsed. More lanced down, but most missed, a couple of stray ones hitting its prey.  
  
*Ah... So that's why those seats had to be protected. With the gym leader adopting this kind of strategy, its essential.*  
  
Electabuzz gave off a deafening "buzz!", and surrounded himself with electricity, the voltage arcing around his striped body, crackling. He continued with his quick fire punches, maintaining the current at all times. *Good work. Now his blows will deliver far more than just heat.* By far however, alakazam was having the easiest time. His display of teleports and psybeams were working well against the ninja-like pokemon, bowling them back a couple of metres upon contact. By now, all the illusions were no more, thanks to skarmory.  
  
Magmar, observing electabuzz, mimicked him, and switched tactics, enveloping himself in flames, and delivering thunderpunches madly. Skarmory was more cool-headed, swooping down, slashing and scratching with his talons.  
  
The scythers however weren't easy targets. Their large scythes were employed both offensively and defensively, slicing away and blocking swipes. Their agility too stood them in good stead against their less nimble opponents, and the home-ground advantage was not easily lost.  
  
***  
  
Electabuzz and magmar fought back to back, occasionally using their far more demanding projectiles. Alakazam had fainted, bringing another scyther down with in a full-out psychic. The scyther had been slammed all the way across the field, twitching and writhing the whole time, driven by the mass of energy. Skarmory was still going strong, giving drill pecks every time he dived down.  
  
It was not long, however before magmar and electabuzz fainted, both getting rid of one more enemy each. Skarmory was alone, facing one scyther. He had the type advantage, but Tom wasn't sure it would do much good.  
  
The remaining scyther was larger than the rest, and had an ominous looking scar running down from its left eye to its jaws. It waited, neither panting nor heaving for breath, watching skarmory with a composed look. With a cry, it launched itself up, rushing towards skarmory at breakneck speed, scythes raised menacingly.  
  
***  
  
Skarmory had done admirably well against the scyther, exhausted as he was. With scyther being less manoeuvrable in midair, skarmory had a easier time dodging attacks than scyther. Furthermore, scyther, it seemed, had no ranged attacks, giving skarmory another advantage. However, the metallic bird of prey was visibly getting worn out, making more and more slip-ups, and getting hit more often.  
  
Finally, skarmory landed, and so did scyther, after yet another successful double-slash. Surprisingly, scyther, instead of charging, chose to cross its scythes in a "X", and closed its eyes, concentrating. An off-white orb formed where the scythes met, pulsing with energy. *That is *not* meditate...* Tom realised, and bellowed, "Skarmory! Dodge!"  
  
Without question, the steel type obeyed, taking to the air. The hyper beam lanced straight for skarmory, who compensated, neatly sidestepped it in mid-air. In response, skarmory rode a thermal up, created by the sun heating up the transparent screens shielding the seats. When the thermal faded however, skarmory was at a decent height, merely a barely visible speck in the sky.  
  
Folded back his wings, skarmory shifted his centre of gravity, allowing his beak to aim towards scyther. He screeched, and plummeted, just a narrow "V", plunging down. A hundred metres up from the ground, skarmory shifted his tail feathers, pulling out of the nose-dive; into what can only be described as a controlled tumble, such was his high speed. Scyther fired a hyperbeam, one that took all of skarmory's will power to avoid, the tip of the attack, clipping his wings. A simple course correction put him right back on track.  
  
Scyther was still, concentrating. A devilish grin formed, and scyther assumed a proper fighting position, one "arm" forward in a guard, the other at the rear, ready for a strike. Skarmory's metallic feathers brighten, utilising a harden in preparation for the impact. Steeling himself, skarmory crashing headon into... the dirt. Scyther seemingly materialised from nowhere, speeding towards skarmory, his beak impaled in the soil. With a grunt, skarmory braced his talons, tearing himself free, and tottered out of scyther's way... right into an ivory spear.  
  
Skarmory was thrown back a few metres, and collapsed. Scyther towered over his limp form, scythes ready. Skarmory didn't get back up. "Return!" Scyther disappeared, withdrawn as a crimson beam into the pokeball. Hands trembling, Tom whispered, "come back", his voice activating the mechanism in the pokeball. With a murmur of "Nice work. You did great." Tom replaced it on his belt.  
  
The three met in the centre once again, the grass "battle-scarred" with charred patches and dirt thrown up here and there. Tom was trudging his feet, but in reality, he wasn't so concerned about the loss as he was about the last attack.  
  
"What was that last hyper beam doing there? I don't recall scyther firing it..."  
  
Both girls giggled, but it was Shale who answered. "Ah, but you did. That was fired when your skarmory dived at scyther."  
  
"Didn't that one miss?"  
  
"I've long since trained this scyther to be able to control the path of her hyper beam. It was a tremendous chore to catch her, by the way. The alpha female of the swarm, I heard."  
  
"I see. Can I have a rematch sometime?"  
  
"Sure. I see that you're taking this defeat rather well."  
  
"It is my first gym lose, and I'll be lying if I claim that I am not distressed. I am rather disappointed, but then, I'd rather lose here than in the League itself, if I ever get there."  
  
Shalla raised her eyebrows. "My my, aren't we acting mature."  
  
Tom shot her a "Shut up!" glance, one that he had become rather adept at, what with all the jabs that alakazam kept throwing him.  
  
"Good luck on your next battle. I shall be waiting." Shale winked, and retired to the pokecentre, leaving Shalla and Tom in the arena.  
  
*What mistake did I make... Ah never mind. I'll sleep on it....*  
  
"Don't you have something to do?" Shalla interrupted Tom from his reverie.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
Shalla refrained from speaking, choosing instead to gaze pointedly at Tom's belt. "Oh yah. Er... Hold my hand."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Well I think that will be faster than walking... or running."  
  
"You're going to fly us there?"  
  
"No exactly..."  
  
Shalla sighed at the vague answers, if they could even be called that, but gripped Tom's outstretched hand. Tom however, pulled back upon contact, looking over his hand. "What's wrong?" "Nothing..." *Wow... That felt electric.*  
  
Shalla scowled, but clutched Tom's hand again, looking at him expectantly. "Hold on." Tom concentrated. *Pokecentre... Ah there it is...* Their world faded, the colours immediately returning, this time in the soothing environment of the pokecentre.  
  
Shalla gasped, and nearly fell down, but Tom caught her, his reflexes taking over. "Woah! Steady there."  
  
She stared at Tom, still in his arms. A few peaceful seconds passed, and time itself seemed to be standing still for the two. "Erm, are you sure you want to stay there forever?" Tom joked. Blushing furiously, Shalla hastily got up, balancing herself by griping onto Tom's shoulder. Tom straightened, also flushed at the prolonged contact.  
  
He smiled, and spoke. "That was an accident, right?" Tom glanced deep into Shalla's eyes, his own sparkling. "Yeah... An accident... Totally..." Shalla stumbled off, slightly unbalanced it seemed.  
  
Tom went over to the counter, passing his pokeballs to the chansey-on-duty. "Chansey chansey." "Can you help me heal my pokemon? Thanks." "Chansey." Tom thought back to the *moment*. He recalled inhaling her perfume, just a light dab it seemed, fragrant yet not too overpowering. *Just nice...* He remembered her trembling in his arms, and kicked himself for spoiling the entire thing by that ill-timed joke. *Never mind. There will always be next time... I hope.*  
  
***  
  
Shalla, it seemed, had been avoiding him, and Tom didn't even catch her in time for dinner -- together. In fact, since that afternoon, Tom hadn't seen her, and it was only late at night, when they finally met in the trainers' room, which had numerous beds for pokemon trainers to stay in, for free. Shalla just glanced away, not linking gazes. She sat on her bed, and the room was in total silence. Her head drooped, and she raised her hands to cover her face.  
  
Tom joined her. "What's wrong?" He gently, but firmly pried her palms loose, getting off the bed, kneeling to meet her look. Shalla turned away, but Tom shifted again. Still, she averted her eyes, as if ashamed about something.  
  
"What is it?" Tom asked again; he was concerned, yet losing patience. Shalla was still silent. Tom, for reasons unknown even to him, exploded. "What!" He roared, rising. Shalla turned a tear-streaked face upwards, establishing eye contact for a split second, and then she rose, crying, scurrying out the door.  
  
"I'm..." But it was too late. Shalla was out of sight. "...sorry..." Tom added, barely more than a murmur. *What is *wrong* with me...* He collapsed on the bed; and it was a long time before he finally sunk into a deep sleep -- one that tormented him with nightmares.  
  
***  
  
Tom stood in the trainer box, facing Shale -- Shalla was nowhere in sight. He had other things on his mind, but the gym battle was already scheduled. Only yesterday, *something* had happened between him and Shalla, but he wasn't sure what.  
  
"This shall be a one on one battle. Tom, make it count."  
  
Utter silence -- as two pokemon emerged. One, a scyther, larger and more menacing than the average scyther. The other was a rhydon, with the colouration of a nidoking, his armour-like hide a violet hue, instead of the greyish tint most other rhydons had.  
  
The rhinoceros like pokemon stood on two stubby legs, snorting. Shale, it appeared, was a trifle nervous; since it was obvious none of scyther's attacks would do much good. Rhydon would barely feel normal or physical attacks, and most, if not all of scyther's attacks are normal or physical.  
  
The battle commenced, with scyther using double team and swords dance, separating into five, all performing the same ritual to sharpen their scythes. Then, all five charged straight at rhydon, who made no move to block them -- not that he could have stopped all five simultaneously.  
  
The scythers used their agility, speeding around rhydon, delivering slashes, their swipes getting more rapid by the second; their blows more powerful. Rhydon was initially confused, but soon made the best of the situation. "Bad move Shale. Rhydon! Seismic Toss!" Shale's eyes widened, as rhydon made his moves, merely sticking his arms out. The images faded, one by one, until the final image -- one that was desperately trying to slow down, hit. With a roar, rhydon roughly grabbed the mantis pokemon, clutching her in a vice-like grip, unrelenting.  
  
The scyther struggled, trying to escape its fate, blindly dealing blows everywhere; but rhydon remained unaffected. Swinging around, rhydon smashed the scyther into the ground, and landed on scyther. A sickening crack was heard -- signifying the end, for a seriously injured pokemon was, by default not allowed to battle.  
  
Shale's gasp was heard almost across the arena. She returned scyther to her pokeball, where she would rest, in suspended animation, without pain. Similarly, Tom returned rhydon, and with an almost customary "great work", placed the ball back onto the belt, the magnetic clipping automatically locking on.  
  
The two met in the centre, both rather silent, but for different reasons. Shale, because of her pokemon's condition, while Tom -- was a different story. Sure, he had won, but it had been so simple, he almost wondered if the badge would be worth anything. He received the badge, carved to look like a small spider, unlike the previous, fist-shaped token from the fighting gym -- from Shalla. The other was a pokeball, one that, Shale explained, contained an eevee.  
  
"Thanks, but I have to be going... I've got someone to find."  
  
"Shalla would like to talk to you; she hasn't come to me yet, but I am sure that she needs someone right now. After all, I grew up with her." Shale somehow predicted Tom's "quest", and spoke accordingly.  
  
With a forced smile, Tom ran off.  
  
***  
  
Shalla had parked herself on a cliff, seated with her legs under her chin, and her arms wrapped around her legs. Tom strolled up, and waited, still a few metres away. It had not taken very long to find her -- a person in a great deal of pain or sorrow leaves a rather distinct aura -- one that Tom could track with almost indifferent ease.  
  
He spoke, "Shalla, I'm sor..."  
  
"Tom I have something that I think you should know -- before you go any further." There was a tremble in Shalla's voice, one that she was not attempting to veil.  
  
Tom waited; trying his best to remain patient while Shalla gathered her thoughts. 


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11  
  
For a moment, silence held sway, but Shalla spoke eventually.  
  
"I am part of the Nelprin Clan..."  
  
Tom let loose a gasp. The Nelprin Clan was one of the best in Martial Arts; despite having relatively few members. It was renowned for churning out world-class fighters, and only those who already possess a certain command of the skill were even allowed to petition for a position.  
  
Shalla gave Tom a weary glance -- one that seemed to say, "Do you mind?" He promptly shut up.  
  
"I am sure that you know what being a member there entails; however there are many vows to be taken -- ones which I thought unimportant at that time. There is one particular one, which involves you... *us*."  
  
Tom waited with bated breath, wonder where this would lead.  
  
"The vow involved abstaining from falling into relationships -- the romantic kind."  
  
Tom gawked, incredulous. "I thought... That the clans..." Tom paused. He had no idea how to put it inoffensively.  
  
Anticipating Tom, Shalla answered the unspoken question. "Well, yes. We do treasure loyalty, dedication, and above all, honour. However, this vow is only required to be a member of the inner circle. It was the chance of a lifetime... And I accepted the offer."  
  
***  
  
The sun set, seeming to accelerate, as it dipped below the distant snow-capped mountains. It lingered for a slight while, as if desperate to cast the last rays of radiance upon the plains before departing -- to return another day.  
  
Tom and Shalla were still seated at the cliff's edge. Neither was speaking, yet Shalla appeared restless, shifting around every couple of seconds. Tom was staring out into the expanse, eyes glazed over and dull.  
  
Shalla, occasionally peeked at Tom, but a faraway look greeted her. She got up -- unable to bear the hushed calm any longer. Twirling around, Shalla was abruptly jolted by Tom's voice.  
  
"Shalla." Tom's tone was clear and steady, betraying no emotions what so ever. As if on cue, both turned around, and their eyes met -- for a split second. But that instant was all it took; Shalla flinched. The moment of eye contact revealed more about Tom than, possibly, what Shalla had ever known.  
  
*That desolate look. its like... an abyss of despair; an empty void. I don't know what to do... its all so confusing.* "Tom... I..."  
  
Tom held up a hand, gesturing for Shalla to halt. Turning back to face the twilight, Tom closed his eyes, and spoke. "its your choice, Shalla. No one can make it for you. I can... no. I *will* be here for you, but its all up to you..."  
  
"I... Thanks. That means so much to me..." Shalla's voice trailed off, as she remembered something from her past. Whatever it was though, she shook it off.  
  
"Shalla... Do you have to make the decision now?"  
  
"Wha..."  
  
"I mean can it wait? Or must you tell the inner council now?" Tom had twist around, his hazel eyes pleading.  
  
"I... no." The simplicity of the answer was stunning, yet Tom heaved a sigh of relief. His own thoughts however cut off his elation. *I have to prepare for it. Running away, unfortunately, won't solve anything.*  
  
"The inner council gathers once every five years, each time right after the Azure League Championships. So we still have four years."  
  
"Is there... anyway that we can... convince the council to make an exception?"  
  
"I d..." Unexpectedly, a fleeting image came to Shalla's mind. "There is... Once chance."  
  
Tom listened intently.  
  
"I'm sure you know the hierarchy of command. The champion of the league will get to battle Elite 4. Should the trainer win, he or she will be crowned the rank of Pokemaster. Then, he or she can make a request. That request can be anything -- unless it is impossible. Only one person in history has actually declined this honour. And that is Pokemaster Ash."  
  
Tom knowing the history of the leagues rather well, nodded. Only seven trainers have ever defeated the Elite 4; the last being Ash. Only trainers who had emerged champion of the Azure League could challenge them, a rule implemented after the Elite 4 had a hard time coping with the many requests for battles. Therefore, now they only had one challenger every five years, although sometimes, previous champions would contest them once more.  
  
"But what does that have to do with us?"  
  
"I was thinking, although it might be thought selfish by some -- should you defeat the Elite 4, maybe you could request for the council to revoke that rule."  
  
Tom eyes held a eerie gleam, as he whispered, "I'll do my best."  
  
***  
  
Tom and Shalla, dressed warmly, trekked up the mountain. A week had passed since the last gym victory, and they were headed for the ice gym, training along the way. There, according to Shalla, the challenge laid not in how to find the gym, but how to get there. The most direct, and fastest route was of course to climb up the eighty-degree slope, but Tom had chosen a less treacherous approach -- to follow the winding track that meandered up the slope.  
  
The ascent was strenuous and demanding, requiring frequent breaks to find ways around rockslides and the like. But after a few days' climb, their hectic pace dawdled; their movements getting more sluggish by the second. The snow, only a light coating concealing the hard-packed ice beneath, decreased the friction, allowing for inevitable slips and falls. The warmth was nonexistent, the bitter winds howling as stinging needles of pain slapped once and once again into the pair. Tom was no stranger to subzero temperatures, but these conditions soon had even him chilled to the core. They huddled together, straining even to breath. Each and every inhalation was a nightmare, the icy air seeking to soak up every last bit of heat from their lungs. There was nothing to soothe them -- the peak was forever shrouded by fog, effectively cloaking it.  
  
The only comfort was the view below. It was breath taking to say the least, the vast plains; or rather what was visible of the pastures and such below. Even this had its detriments however -- the sheer distance of the ground would put everything in perspective. Even people without acrophobia would not be able to restrain a shudder at the sight.  
  
Tom and Shalla struggled on, arms wrapped around each other for warmth and solace. Their bodies were packed together, but neither was aware of the intimacy, choosing instead to focus on the task at hand.  
  
***  
  
Tom and Shalla toiled on through the mist, the cloudy vapour effectively concealing all signs of the rest of the mountain, and visibility was reduced to only a few metres. They had long since given up speaking, alternatively squeezing each other each time the other stumbled or wanted to stop -- to stop in these conditions was to commit suicide, for the bodily function would cease to function once the blood flow slowed from lack of exertion.  
  
"Let's stop. I'll let magmar out for some warmth."  
  
The couple gathered around magmar, taking a much-needed rest. They had stopped at a place much like a plateau, but somehow the howling air currents seemed weaker.  
  
***  
  
The mist had lifted, and so had the relatively weak blizzard. They awoke, both dizzy from the lack of oxygen caused by the altitude. Tom was the first to something that none of them had seen the previous day -- a building. Ironically, they had stopped the previous time, ending up just a few metres from their goal.  
  
It had been a taxing scramble, but they made it. The gym itself was the peak -- being the highest point. Tom studied it; the goal for which they had risked their very lives. The building seemed to be constructed from ice, like an igloo. It was huge, about the size of a standard 400m running track, leaving Tom to wonder how the ice blocks were kept in place. There were no visible carvings in place, yet a few ivory statues of Articuno were erected at regular intervals across the gym, or at least, what Tom could see of its exterior.  
  
The dome shaped building did not have much of an original design, bar the frozen material used to construct it.  
  
"Magmar return!"  
  
"Tom, why bother?" Shalla was rather alarmed when magmar suddenly disappeared.  
  
"I don't exactly want to burst in there with my only fire pokemon for the gym leader to see."  
  
"Suit yourself."  
  
They walked in, thankful for their gloves, shielding them from the intense cold radiating from the door. The interior was not much better than the rest of the mountain. It was still freezing, yet the sight was more than welcome.  
  
The entire building, contrary to what Tom expected, was supported by huge steel beams, and where they criss-crossed, lights hung, illuminating the entire stadium. As Tom strolled forward, even more was apparent.  
  
A battle was in progress, evident when a huge blast of fire illuminated the entire arena. Tom went forward to get a better look. Angus was battling, his familiar form gesturing wildly for emphasis on his commands. In fact, the movements were so comical, that Tom burst out laughing, Shalla joining in a moment later.  
  
Angus looked back, his eyes brightening in recognition, and waved; soon however, he returned to the match. Tom looked at the billboard, and saw that the battle had gone well for Angus... Or rather, as well as a battle can get in an Azure League gym battle. Angus and the gym leader were both down to their last pokemon, Angus using his humongous charizard, and the leader using a sneasel.  
  
Tom glanced back to the arena, a sunken pit in the ground. It continuously moved up and down, driven by unknown mechanisms. The field itself was rather scenic. It had a layer of snow, with a miniature river snaking through it. In some places, the snow had melted, revealing hard packed snow underneath, playing to the gym leader's advantage. The battle ended, with charizard somehow pinning the speedy sneasel with a fire blast.  
  
Angus received his badge and prize, and dashed over to Tom.  
  
"Hi!" Tom just grinned in response.  
  
"How come you are still here?"  
  
"Well, I had some things that needed doing."  
  
"Like?"  
  
"Well... I did pick up some company and stuff."  
  
Angus snigger, and gave Tom a friendly shove. "You fiend. Who is she?"  
  
Tom explained, leaving out some portions. "Oh well, I'll challenge the gym leader now. Care to watch?"  
  
"Sure thing! I want to see if you have any new pokemon anyway."  
  
Shalla, in the mean time, had gone over to the gym leader, chatting with the guy. They both looked up as Tom approached. The gym leader was rather plump, similar to an ursaring in build. Unlike the fierce pokemon however, the gym leader had a Santa Claus like face, a joyous smile etched onto his face. He was flushed red, whether from the cold or from the battle, Tom couldn't tell.  
  
"I'm Chuck. I suppose you want a battle. Three on three. Standard gym rules... But could you hold on a second? The snow has to be replaced."  
  
A transparent dome now covered the pit, and a miniature blizzard seemed to be brewing inside. When the storm settled, the bubble lifted, revealing the entire pit, covered in snow.  
  
The two took their positions, and a "Ding!" signalled the start.  
  
Magmar landed in the fluffy snow, bringing those that came into contact to a sizzling boil. Steam rose, shrouding magmar in a natural covering of mist. At the opposite end, A dewgong appearing, popping right into the river, and stuck its head out, grinning. The platform in the pit, housing the entire field, shifted, slowly moving up and down.  
  
The battle commenced, with dewgong immediately diving into the water, out of view. A wave rose out of the river in its wake, rushing towards magmar, enveloping it. The attack drained away swiftly, revealing magmar -- thoroughly soaked, and irritated.  
  
Running over to the river, magmar charged up both fists, each cracking with electricity. With out much force, he struck, sticking the duo thunderpunch into the water. Although the attack carried little force, the result was impressive. Yellow bolts arced over the water, lighting up the entire arena in a sickly glow. Before the surface, dewgong received much of the brunt, and bubbles rose to the surface, the marine pokemon unable to contain the air in its lungs.  
  
In response, dewgong shot out of the water, summoning a giant snowstorm around its opponent. Magmar however, simply sent a massive column of flames towards the blizzard -- and dewgong. The blazing pillar started spinning, engulfing the blizzard attack, and swallowing it with ease. Continuing on, the fire spin overwhelmed dewgong, leaving behind but a charred mass that plunged back into the water in a wild tumble, unconscious.  
  
Magmar, however did appear drained from sustaining the powerful fire attack, stood heaving for breath, visible billows of cloudy vapour emerging with every pant. *Damn it! This atmosphere is taking its toll on magmar. None of them are really equipped to cope with this climate, and the lack of oxygen.*  
  
"Lapras! Go!" The transport pokemon materialised in the water, humming a soothing melody. Magmar was far less cheerful, the home ground advantage giving his opponents huge benefits. Concentrating, magmar shot a fire blast, the symbol travelling swiftly across the field. Lapras seemed amused at the attempt, and gushed a tremendous amount of water at the incoming inferno. The fire blast was easily overpowered in a misty vapour, but the rest of the water kept coming, heading straight for magmar, who was in no condition to dodge it.  
  
A few seconds and a bellow; and magmar was returned. Lapras waited patiently, the calming melody still present. Tom sent out electabuzz, confident that the electric type would fair well. The striped pokemon emerged, assessing the situation nervously. His soles were hardly suited for walking on this icy terrain, and furthermore the entire field was moving up and down, disorienting to say the least.  
  
"Rain dance!" Tom gave his first command in the battle, forming a strategy. Chuck on the opposite side, knew the implications of the move -- the arena would be wet, allowing electabuzz to shock lapras from anywhere. Chuck chuckled. He would have to take the enemy down as well. "Perish song! Whirlpool!"  
  
Electabuzz closed his eyes, swaying slightly from side to side, mouthing a silent chant. From nowhere, storm clouds gathered, pouring rain into the field, melting the snow, and thickening the ice at some places. The greatest boon came from the artificial weather warming up the place, enabling electabuzz some comfort.  
  
Lapras however wasn't idling. It sang softly, maintaining the song as a tornado formed, rushing towards electabuzz. Electabuzz allowed himself to be trapped, seeing to difference as to where he shot the electricity. From within the twisting mass of liquid, a bright flash occurred, the charge instantly travelling around the arena, breaking up some of the ice just by its sheer power alone. *He's staking everything on this single attack... its far larger than what he should be using...* Tom realised.  
  
The effort was not wasted, as the thunder attack rippled through lapras, leaving it whimpering in anguish, painful spasms arising in its wake. The perish count dropped, leaving both pokemon shuddering from the prophecy of doom. With its creator paralysed, the whirlpool subsided, releasing electabuzz, letting him pummel unceremoniously to the ground. Both pokemon struggling to get an attack in, the perish count nevertheless dropped once more. The duo winced, and electabuzz abandoned all efforts to rise, letting a mild charge -- what's left of his energy reserve travel throughout the moist surroundings, shocking lapras for the last time.  
  
The perish song ended.  
  
Both pokemon collapsed, moaning from unseen forces. *I have a pretty good idea what Chuck's going to send out next... But who should I use? Rhydon is out of the picture; kingdra is definitely not suited to the next battle... Skarmory is not accustomed to the climate. Alakazam will have very little attacks to counter a sneasel... And I sure don't want to use shadow. Eevee... is a possibility... no -- a must. I have no choice. She's not that experienced, but she will do her best.*  
  
Sneasel materialised in the field, observing the chunking of ice ripped out with disdain. Seeing no opponent as yet, it settled down, calmly sharpening its claws by digging them through a relatively softer patch of ice. This sneasel did not look evil -- rather, it had a determined air about it, signifying that the next battle would not be easy. Not that Tom expected it to be. After all, he had seen the sneasel battle Angus's Charizard -- and he had battled the charizard before.  
  
"Go, eevee!"  
  
In the stands, Shalla was jolted. *What is Tom thinking? Eevee just doesn't have the experience needed here...* But as she went over Tom's other pokemon, Shalla understood. She wasn't happy about it, but accepted Tom's decision.  
  
Eevee was deceptively cute and cuddly in appearence, and yet Tom knew that she was a fierce fighter, albeit inexperienced. However, what she lacked in skill she more than made up for in enthusiasm, and was nicknamed "the devil" during training. She wore a necklace, one that had an everstone secured unobtrusively to it, preventing eevee from evolving. After all, Tom already had psychic and dark type pokemon.  
  
Tom wondered how the battle would go; this was eevee's first. 


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12  
  
Eevee readied herself, stretching this way and that, all the while studying her opponent. The sneasel shot her a feral grin, and unsheathed its claws; an open challenge. Eevee followed suit, and the battle began.  
  
Sneasel, without the almost customary preliminaries in a cat fight (no pun intended), started off with an agility, leaving but a blur as it sped over the light cushion of snow; its padded feet fared well, allowing the dark pokemon to zip over the terrain.  
  
Eevee however wasn't idling. She curled up, and started rolling, heading straight. The other feline shifted its course, and blazed towards her, a malevolent gleam in its eye. The two clashed, and Tom's heart skipped a beat. Eevee, being the slower of the duo, was rammed back, landing in the snow a couple of metres away. Sneasel, ever the opportunist, pounced, slashing away with wild abandon.  
  
Trapped, eevee could do nought but to accept the punishment, whimpering in anguish. Shalla's heart went out to her, and she screeched, "Tom! *Do* something!"  
  
Tom could only gaze on, as his newest pokemon suffered from the unrelenting swipes of her opponent. He held up the pokeball. "Eevee, ret... What are you doing!" With a deft swipe, eevee had shoved sneasel aside, bounding away from the crimson ray. There were scarlet streaks on her face, where sneasel's fury swipes and slashes had left their mark. The wounds bled at several points, but eevee appeared impervious to them.  
  
The pair's eyes met for a moment -- trainer and pokemon, and Tom saw, in that millisecond, the fire in her eyes; the unwavering resolution to fight -- and to win. *She *wants* to battle...* Tom realised. He nodded, and replaced the pokeball.  
  
Sneasel, eyes narrowed into slits, had been scrutinising eevee all this while, surveying her for any weakness that it could exploit. Eevee did likewise, and the two circled each other, muscles tense. Their furs were bristled, their fangs glittering even in the dim lighting of the pit.  
  
Eevee took the offensive, springing towards its adversary, crossing the dozen metres separating them in a heartbeat. Sneasel was oddly stationary, its unruffled gaze bore into eevee. Eevee leaped up, and all held their breath, as she struck... the snow, landing in a heap. The snow somewhat mitigated the fall, alleviating the impact, but eevee nevertheless had all the wind knocked out of her.  
  
Seemingly out of nowhere, sneasel struck, slamming, head first, into a still-stunned eevee, who was flung back. "Alright! Now frostbite!" Sneasel, a malicious sneer plastered on its face, raced to eevee, sinking its fangs into her midsection. Unprepared, eevee struggled briefly, to no avail. Sneasel clung on, and abruptly vaulted off, using eevee body as a launching platform.  
  
Curiously, no blood oozed out. Instead, centring the small punctures, hoarfrost formed, spreading out at an almost leisurely pace. Yet, the progress was steady, and eevee was shortly encased in frost. The ice had expanded all the way to her paws, and the only eevee's furry head was spared. The scene would almost have been comical, but Tom, Shalla and Angus were appalled.  
  
The attack limited eevee's movements, and indeed, all she could do was to wiggle her head. Sneasel stood; positioning her arms in a "X", and swiftly drew an invisible "X" in the air. The whitish orb that formed where the swipes intersected was anything but indistinguishable. With both paws, sneasel somehow *grabbed* the sphere, which spluttered and hissed, radiating intense cold. With a wicked scoff, sneasel extended her arms, launching the frozen globe.  
  
Unable even to budge, eevee was powerless to avoid the incoming attack. It hurtled into her, emitting a dazzling white flare. The radiance faded, revealing eevee, completely sheathed in ice. Her mouth was gaping in a silent scream. Sneasel, satisfied with its handiwork, started zipping around the arena at breakneck speed, picking up momentum. With a last, victorious snarl, it collided with the frozen statue, ending the match.  
  
Eevee was jarred out of the ice, only to slam against the metallic walls of the arena. "Return!" Both pokemon were retrieved, and Tom whispered a "You did your best" before replacing the pokeball onto his belt clipping. *I suppose I will have to get used to losing... at gym battles.*  
  
Oddly, Tom felt no despair. Nothing rose up from the depths to haunt him on his lose. Tom laughed, a sweet, boyish sound that bellied his experience and power.  
  
***  
  
Tom and Shalla stood outside the gym, trying to figure out how to defeat Chuck. Angus was off some distance away, training his own pokemon in seclusion.  
  
"Any ideas?" Tom glanced at Shalla with raised eyebrows.  
  
"Maybe..." Shalla hesitated.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Maybe you can use magmar?"  
  
"But its three on three..."  
  
"For re-matches, most gym leaders prefer one on one battles -- makes it faster."  
  
"I'll try."  
  
***  
  
"Chuck! I challenge you to a re-match."  
  
"Fine. One on one. No time limit."  
  
Tom nodded, and withdrew a pokeball. "Go! Mag... Eevee what are you doing?"  
  
Eevee's pokeball burst open, and she popped out, scrambling to the arena. Turning back, she started mewing at Tom. "Vee! Eevee! Ee-eevee!..." *She *wants* to battle... its a matter of honour for her...* "Alright then; just do your best."  
  
In the stands, Angus and Shalla, although stunned by this sudden turn of events, nevertheless cheered, as the "Ding!" resounded throughout the gym.  
  
"Halt! Make this a two on two. Tag team."  
  
"What?"  
  
"You heard me."  
  
The moment of elation did not last; Chuck release *another* sneasel, grinning at Tom's bewildered expression. "Go! Magmar!"  
  
Once again, the fiery pokemon landed on the snow, the ice sizzling from contact with the fire type.  
  
"Ding!"  
  
Both sneasels started off with agilities, zooming around the arena. Magmar enveloped himself with fire, the invisible shield exuding waves of heat. Eevee yelped, tracking the pair with her eyes, following their course.  
  
The sneasels attacked, charging at magmar and eevee from opposite sides. Eevee twisted around, using her hind legs to kick up snow, which smacking into a sneasel dead on. The sneasel backed away, violently shaking its head in a vain effort to rid its eyes of the irritant; the snow had partially blinded the sneasel. Eevee dashed towards her fallen foe, ramming into it in an impressive take down attack. Sneasel, totally unprepared, screeched, struggling to get away. Eevee however hounded it, pestering it with bites. The teeth marks were visible; time eevee sunk her teeth into her nemesis, dull crimson blood dripped out, masked to a degree by its jet black fur.  
  
With magmar however, it was far simpler. The other sneasel, obviously not as experienced, slammed headfirst into a fireblast, the inferno scorching it. Tumbling head-over-heals, the sneasel yapped, still driven by the attack, shoved into the wall. The attack did not dissipate; rather, it remained, still thrusting into sneasel, tormenting it for a full minute before subsiding. The sneasel collapsed into a heap in the snow, its matted fur a sharp contrast from the fair snow. It stayed down, permanently out of the fight.  
  
Magmar turned to the other sneasel, which was still plagued by eevee's unrelenting nips. Eevee was merciless, exerting revenge for their battle. Magmar roared an alert, and launched another blazing symbol, this time at another opponent. Eevee snarled one last time, and darted out of the way.  
  
This sneasel however was not keen on going down without a fight. It dug into the snow, its razor-sharp claws making short work of the ice. Huddled, in the hole, the sneasel gathered up its energy, preparing to storm its opponents.  
  
Magmar snorted, and raced over to the pit, arms raised. A miniature sun formed, nestled between magmar's palms -- but not for long. Now just beside the cavity, magmar hurled the flaming ball into it, and rushed away, yelling out a warning to eevee.  
  
A second later, the entire arena was illuminated; the orb having exploded. A large depression was left, literally shifting the entire arena. Ranging outwards, the ice rose, forming a slope. Even further from the epicentre, the terrain inclined downwards. It was similar to the projected scene of what would happen if a meteor crashed into a flat piece of land, albeit on a much smaller scale.  
  
Sneasel laid in the core of the destruction, fainted. "Return!" As the three pokemon were withdrawn, the two trainers met, wary not to drop into the field.  
  
"Looks like you won, Tom."  
  
Tom beamed, and gratefully accepted the badge, and a small box. The badge seemed to be carved from ice, yet it was not cold. It was shaped somewhat like a magnified snowflake, the design exquisite and well fashioned. The other item was a TM, and Chuck responded to Tom's inquisitive stare. "That's for frostbite; no pun intended." Tom chuckled. The attack *could* give a pokemon frostbite, if powerful enough.  
  
"Ah yes, do I still have to go down the mountain?"  
  
"Of course not... I can't possible climb up and down every time I want to go shopping or something. In case you haven't noticed, the pokecentre and pokemart are at the base of the mountain. I usually take the er... modified lift down."  
  
"Modified?" Angus questioned.  
  
"Well, it slants outwards... Saves the trouble of walking after I get out of the lift."  
  
"Okay..."  
  
"Anyway, its this way."  
  
The plump gym leader lead the trio to a small door; one that opened up to a small room -- or so it seemed. After the four stepped inside, Chuck pressed a couple of buttons, and with a "Hang on...", the "doors" slide shut, and the room rocketed down.  
  
***  
  
"See ya Angus. Hope you make it to the league."  
  
"Thanks!" Angus winked at Tom, and lifted off on his charizard.  
  
Shalla glanced at Tom. "What was that wink for?"  
  
"Er... I'm not sure."  
  
Shalla narrowed her eyes, tucking her fists at her waist. "Do you have a flying type?"  
  
"Well... Skarmory is far too small to carry the both of us."  
  
Shalla glared at Tom. "Are you implying that I'm fat?"  
  
"No! No! Of course not..."  
  
"Of course eh..." Tom gulped, and started running.  
  
"Hey! No fair! We're supposed to start together!"  
  
Panting, Tom replied, "Any you being trained in the Nelprin Clan is fair?"  
  
"Of course it is! I had to do the training myself!"  
  
Tom gritted his teeth and concentrated on running, as Shalla effortlessly caught up, giggling at him.  
  
"I *pant* will *pant* kill *pant* you! *pant*" Tom strained to draw even with his companion.  
  
***  
  
"What the..." Tom stared at the gym... And gawked some more. To claim the design of weird was to make the understatement of the millennium. The building was bizarre, looking like *two* structures fused together.  
  
It was massive, almost twice the size of the previous gym. The left side was a brilliant violet, the right just plain grey. The mammoth letters "GYM" engraved into the centre was also split into two colourations. The left being grey while the right was lavender. The entire styling was roman, yet the shades scarcely matched. Tom groaned. *Great. An eccentric gym leader… What could be better.*  
  
Tom and Shalla strolled in. A young man and a lady greeted them, both, as nearly as Tom could tell, were in their early twenties. Both were blonde, however the girl's locks edged towards a golden shade while the guy's hair contrasted with dirt brown. The girl was *very* pretty, definitely model material, with a wholesome figure, and curves in all the right places. The guy had a very intense look, his eyes locking on Tom.  
  
"Er... I would like to challenge the gym leader?"  
  
"You mean gym leaders."  
  
"Wha?"  
  
"We're both gym leaders."  
  
"Is that possible? Two leaders of the same gym..."  
  
The lady snapped off a reply, seemingly very impatient. "Well for one thing, the Cerulean gym in the Indigo League has *three* gym leaders. And secondly, we are gym leaders of different gyms. We are just located at the same place. And *in case* you didn't know, he's the ghost gym leader and I use psychics." The snarl-like tone did little to obscure her beauty.  
  
"Er... I see." In reality however, Tom had no idea what was going on. *I'd better not say anything embarrassing.*  
  
The guy spoke again. "Well, you have to defeat both of us at the same time. Two separate battles will commence simultaneously, in those two fields, side by side. The pokemon in one battle are not allowed to help the other pokemon, unless its own opponent has already fainted. This shall be two one on one battles. Anything but a double win will go to us."  
  
"Okay..."  
  
Shalla whirled around, centring on Tom. "Are you sure you want to do this? Only alakazam and shadow have advantages here... But I don't think you want to use shadow. You could go train some more."  
  
"Nah. I'll pretty sure."  
  
"If you say so..." Shalla proceeded to the audience stands.  
  
Tom looked over the gym, marvelling at the ivory finish of the interior. The gym was probably this vast, since it had to house two arenas. Tom set his jaw. *The main challenge here will be to defeat *both* gym leaders *at once*. I hope I'm up for it.*  
  
Walked over, glancing over the fields. Both were plain, nothing more than dirt and tiny tufts of grass here and there. Tom suspected the greenery only served only as decoration; it did nothing to curb the desolate sentiment one felt when gazing at the almost barren land.  
  
A transparent wall separated the two fields; serving, Tom suspected to prevent pokemon from "accidentally" assisting their companions. The gym leaders took their positions, and the chap called out to Tom.  
  
"Alright. I am Tobias. This is Rachael. Remember. Double win or nothing."  
  
Tom nodded, and they selected their pokemon. The trainer boxes were marked with chalk, and there were five of them; only three were used for gym battles, the other two for the usual trainings. Tom stepped onto the central one; one that gave him an excellent view of both fields. Tom selected shadow and alakazam, while Tobias and Rachael called upon a gengar and an alakazam respectively.  
  
The battles commenced, with shadow facing off alakazam, and alakazam confronting gengar.  
  
Alakazam started off with psybeams -- lots of them. The mauve rays passed through gengar, causing zero damage -- excluding what they did to a pillar. Alakazam, momentarily stunned, was unprepared for what came next. Shadow vanished, leaving a frantic alakazam, who desperately tried to locate its elusive enemy.  
  
Shadow reappeared seconds later, above alakazam, stubby hands outstretched -- downwards. Smiling a malicious smirk, shadow immobilised alakazam telekinetically, overriding alakazam's own considerable psychic abilities. The alakazam did not struggle, choosing to mentally assault shadow -- and was rewarded with an evil chuckle for its efforts. Yellowish energy charged from shadow's hands, replacing the original cobalt glow with a golden hue.  
  
The radiance intensified, leaving alakazam completely surrounded. *Death trap. A very good attack -- if shadow can pull it off. The enemy cannot use any physical attacks, being immobilised, and yet shadow is immune to psychic attacks, and ranged attacks will just be reflected back at the opponent, once the barrier is erected. If only shadow wasn't so evil...*  
  
Tom fixated his attention on the other field, where alakazam was having a hard time countering the gengar's hit-and-run, or in this case, hit-and-teleport strikes. The assaults were taking their toll, weakening alakazam.  
  
*Quick! Teleport!*  
  
*I can't! That blasted thing is blocking off my abilities.*  
  
*Just...* Tom was at a loss; the gengar was significantly more powerful.  
  
Shadow was having a easy time, casually, setting up the reflect, watching as alakazam's eyes widened in realisation. The dread and panic telepathically pulsing out from it was like music to shadow's ears. Yet -- something was wrong. Shadow wasn't activating the inert attack, instead, it seemed to be struggling against some invisible foe.  
  
*Shit. That alakazam is somehow fighting back...*  
  
Things weren't going well for Tom, but he was not ready to give up. *I *will not lose!**  
  
Abruptly, shadow stopped struggling; the mass of throbbing energy surrounding alakazam vanished, with alakazam emerging, beaming. *Uh-oh...*  
  
Alakazam struck, both fists vibrating, charged with electrical power. The bolts arced around the fists, barely restrained. It struck, the blows leaving shadow reeling, voltage insanely sparkling across and around its body. Shadow let loose a hideous cry, suddenly cut off as alakazam impaled two flaming fists into shadow's abdomen region. The dark ghost flew back, crashing brutally with the barrier, sliding down and landing on the ground, twitching and writhing.  
  
Tom's alakazam was faring no better, having being pummelled by shadow balls. He now slumped over, feebly maintaining a shield, which started to break apart, even as Tom watched on in horror. 


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13  
  
The barrier, rendered visible from being pelted by attacks, seemed to shudder, and shattered. The gengar however, was far from finished. It grinned menacingly, and glowed, the navy luminosity casting a sickly radiance on alakazam.  
  
The reflect, or rather was left of it -- thousands of glass-like pieces, whizzed towards alakazam, now acting as lethal shrapnel... charged with deadly intent. Alakazam shielded himself, the yellowish hue of a psychic screen appearing for a brief moment. The deadly projectiles lanced stabbed into the feeble barrier, the first few bouncing off; while the rest penetrated, thrusting into alakazam.  
  
The psychic pokemon screeched in anguish, his psychic voice radiating the pain as well. All the occupants in the building flinched, mentally experiencing the agony as well. Tom, having a much closer bond with alakazam than anyone else, was clutching his heads with his hands, his brows knotted in an attempt to reduce the flow.  
  
Alakazam collapsed, drifting in and out of consciousness. *Hang on...*  
  
Tom gazed over at shadow, expecting a fainted ghost from the silence. His wildest imagination would not have prepared him for the sight -- shadow and the alakazam locked in hand-to-hand combat, throwing all manners of elemental punches -- and variations of them at each other.  
  
*Looks like shadow's doing all right... Wait.* Tom examined his pokemon more closely, taking in the details. *Something... Something is wrong. This doesn't really seem like the shadow I know... Ah ha!*  
  
The maniac gleam in shadow's eyes were replaced by... Tom couldn't place the sparkle. *Shadow seems more... Intelligent somehow -- and far more steadfast.*  
  
Shadow's movements were far more calculated than Tom remembered; not wasting a single motion when dodging or attacking. Instead of wasting precious time and energy teleporting, it swung around almost casually, avoiding alakazam's blows.  
  
On the other hand, Tom's alakazam was suffering. The technique, recover, only replenishes lost health, leaving behind or even increasing fatigue. The gengar was gloating, savouring the moment, as it fired a final shadow ball. The violet orb blazed right into... nothing. Alakazam had finally managed to null the effects of gengar's partial mind control, managing to pull off a teleport.  
  
*I see. Alakazam is stronger than gengar, but he only appeared weak and took so much damage because he was trying to erase the move.*  
  
Shadow, too was turning the tables on its opponent. It countered the physical moves with reflective barriers, sending the damage right back at alakazam. Alakazam, not anticipating such a defence, sent his cobalt-charged fist into the screen, the thrust earning itself nothing but a frozen wall.  
  
Shadow chuckled at its adversary's demise. *I have heard such a pleasant sound in... Actually I haven't heard it before, at least not from shadow...* A quick teleport, and shadow was positioned behind alakazam, pelting the psychic with shadow balls, relying on sheer quantity to make up for the relatively miserable force behind the attacks. Alakazam recoiled, slamming head first into the frozen barrier that it had created just a few seconds ago. It struggled, to get to its feet, shivering from the contact with the frost. The icy barricade collapsed onto alakazam, eliciting a groan. At this, alakazam collapsed, unable to continue.  
  
Tom stared on. *Shadow is actually... using some semblance to strategy... That's wierd. its never shown any interest to fight smart -- always blundering into a fight, going full out.* Tom paused his chain of thoughts for a second, considering. *Oh well, a win is a win. I'll think about this later. This is neither the time nor the place... One win; another to go.*  
  
Shadow *checked* to ensure alakazam was out, and disappeared in a flash, materialising once again beside Tom's alakazam. Rachael swore, and curses making Tobias flinch. *How typical... A pretty girl with attitude.*  
  
Gengar cringed, facing the duo, both of whom had type advantages against it. By and large, it was not a problem; it was always one on one for gengar. Tobias called out to it, his voice ringing loud and strong. "Gengar! You can do it." Gengar looked confused for a brief moment, but drew strength from the conviction in his tone, setting himself for an unusually tough battle.  
  
And the real challenge began.  
  
Gengar, without "preliminaries", started chanting, growing noticeably weaker, its intonations growing fainter by the second. Alakazam's eyes widened, and glazed over in shock. He started twitching, shuddering all the while. In seconds, alakazam fainted. *Damn it! Curse. I should have thought of it... Shadow, its all up to you now.*  
  
In the field, shadow nodded, and... stayed still.  
  
The two ghost types faced off, both waiting for the other to make the first move.  
  
The silence dragged on, with Tobias getting more and more jumpy by the second.  
  
Gengar, *connected* to its trainer, too became tense, eyes darting about for any signs of a invisible attack. To add to its discomfort, shadow broke into a wide grin, and started glowing, albeit very faintly. Seconds later, shadow disappeared, teleporting to destinations unknown.  
  
Gengar whipped its head around, but saw only its trainer. It glanced up, yet only the overhead lights greeted it. Gengar peeked forward and sideways, receiving the same sight. It was at this time that Tom started to guffaw uncontrollably, while Tobias and Rachael cursed.  
  
Gengar turned. *What is that... thing?*  
  
Facing the poison ghost was a *cloud*; a mass of dark vapour. Gengar focused on the mist, where light was radiating out. The luminosity bled into words, initially vague yet eventually clear enough to distinguish.  
  
"Bye Bye."  
  
Which was when Tom started having hysterics.  
  
From four different directions, dark amethyst spheres materialised, blazing towards gengar. Startled -- yet coiled for action, gengar leapt upwards, psychically propelling itself to go faster, dodging the attacks with barely concealed ease. Reaching where gengar was *supposed* to be, the orbs screeched to a stop without even slowing down, and took off like a rocket, shooting upwards.  
  
Gengar caught a glimpse of the incoming projectiles, and reacted within a nanosecond... just in time. Directing its stubby ethereal arms downwards, gengar concentrated.  
  
Nothing happened.  
  
Startled, gengar glanced up, only to find itself facing a humongous clump of crackling energy, hissing and spitting in fury. Mouth wide open in disbelief, the ghost nevertheless managed to throw itself to one side... right into shadow's ice punch. Gengar screamed, a shrill, piercing shriek that was a far cry from its usual merry tone.  
  
Tom cowered at the sound, but shadow remained unaffected, allowing itself to carry on with another duo thunder punch. Gengar, in addition to getting half of its body encased in ice, and frost spreading throughout the second half, now had a cerulean blanket of electrical power surging throughout its torso, playing over the films of hoarfrost, lending gengar a ghostly light that seemed to keep with its personality, illuminating the arena for a split second.  
  
However, even this damage was dwarfed by what came next -- the result of being flung back by the elemental punches. Gengar, still shivering from the aftermath of the previous volley was in no condition to accept the next one. In mid-flight, gengar was hit.  
  
The orbs, now glowing with a crimson hue, merged into what seemed like a sheet of energy, burning through the air to slam into the victim. The blood-red colour soaked into gengar, effectively obscuring all sight of it.  
  
As it faded to pink, the azure mammoth above hit... and the entire scene exploded in an ivory flash. All fought the glare, striving to overcome the dark spots scattered everywhere in their vision.  
  
Tom's eyesight returned, just in time for what may be the most spectacular show in history -- save for the more horrible implications of the attack.  
  
The cobalt fire fragmented and sizzled over gengar's entire body, with hundreds of lightning like tendrils. Some bled off into the surrounding region, striking the ground at odd places; yet most found their mark, torturing the pokemon with a mix of electrical and psychic energy.  
  
Amazingly, the move, although strong, was more intensive than extensive -- bar the streaks of carbonised dirt on the field.  
  
Gengar fell, plummeting towards the ground, now just deadweight without any form of propulsion. Metres from the ground however, a scarlet beam intercepted its fatal course. Tobias replaced his pokeball, while silence reigned for a few moments.  
  
Tobias was looking down at his feet, contemplating, concentrating. On the other hand, Rachael was seething, trembling with clenched fists. Shalla was ecstatic, yet showing incredible self-restraint in not jumping around in joy. Tom... was thinking.  
  
*What's up with shadow. Ever since the alakazam match, it has been acting weird. Normally it would show absolutely no interest in helping alakazam out, but this time... Also, its use of those tactics and stuff are just not like it. In fact, after the win, it has just been standing there, a quiet grin etched onto its face; patiently waiting. That definitely doesn't look like the shadow I know...*  
  
Rachael spoke first, her voice underlined with a mix of pure astonishment and outright rage. "Let's..." She raised a pokeball, as if preparing to throw it.  
  
"Let's give him our badges." Tobias interrupted, completing the sentence for the other gym leader.  
  
"*WHAT?!*" The girl was, by now literally boiling, staring daggers at Tobias.  
  
"Enough of this nonsense!" Tobias barked off a sharp retort, gauged Rachael's reaction, and continued, "A lose is a lose. If you can't handle it, I'm sure the *others* would have no problem."  
  
The veiled threat was not lost on Rachael, who began spluttering.  
  
"ENOUGH!" A new voice.  
  
Tom locked on to the source, finding a man standing in the shadows. Few other details could be made out -- from this distance, and in the dark. Rachael however paled, her gorgeous face pallid in unconcealed fright.  
  
The man strolled out of the gloom, allowing Tom his first glimpse of a frail-looking old man, with wispy white hair and his face twisted into a scowl. He was dressed in Japanese-style robes, his arms crossed in front of his chest. His voice, contrary to what was expected, came strong and loud, leaving Tom mystified as to his true age. The man nodded in Tom's direction, addressing him.  
  
"Nice work young man. I would be honoured to battle such a worthy opponent... In particular your gengar-like pokemon here."  
  
The old man paused, and turned back to the other gym leaders. "Shalla, I'm sure you have your reasons for leaving your gym in your students' charge. Rest assured they are very good, and the gym's reputation will not fall. Now as for you Rachael, I must say that I am disappointed. Haven't all your time spent with Tobias here taught you anything at all? Consider the two gyms in Tobias's hands for a week as you think over your mistakes. Now Tobias. Good work. You did your best, and gengar put up a good fight. Unfortunately, gengar was out of its league. Give Tom the two badges."  
  
Tom stared at the gentleman. *There is definitely more to him than meets the eye. He can order the *gym leaders* around...*  
  
"Excuse me sir, but who are you?"  
  
"Oh yes. Forgive me. I have forgotten to introduce myself. I am Muromasa, the dark gym leader. You may have noticed that there is a sort of hierarchy of command among the gym leaders. The stronger and the further on you meet the leader, the more power he or she wields. Thus, the eighteenth gym leader would be the most powerful, both in terms of pokemon, and figuratively. The prize for the battle..." Muromasa indicated the arena, "...is to battle me for your next badge."  
  
"Okay..."  
  
Mr Muromasa chuckled at Tom's nervous response, and waited for Tobias to pass Tom the badges. Tom glanced at them. One had a rough outline of a gengar, while the other was just simply two spoons crossed together. Tom resisted the impulse to burst out laughing; simple badge designs were more practical for production.  
  
"Well then, shall we begin our match?"  
  
"Er yes, but before that, could I ask you a question?"  
  
A quiet laugh. "You already did, but I'll give you another."  
  
Tom blushed. "Alright. If I lose this round, what is the penalty for the rematch?"  
  
"A fair question. Should you lose, you will have to defeat me at my own gym. This time, I happen to be here to visit Tobias, but I stumbled upon the three of you battling, so I decided to join in, and to save Tobias here the trouble of finding a prize."  
  
  
"Okay then. I guess I'm all set."  
  
"Good. This shall be a one on one battle; I don't have much time. We'll use this field, unless Tobias here has any... *objections*..." Muromasa raised his eyebrows in the other gym leader's direction. In response, the young man rigorously shook his head, his hair wildly flying about from the action. Tom, tempted to smile at this display, nevertheless managed to check himself, but could not refrain from clearing his throat.  
  
The duo took their positions, and Tom examined the field.  
  
It was the one that shadow and gengar had fought the last, stunning battle. The dirt was marked by veins of soot, interrupted only by small patches where the current had torn up the ground, leaving gaping holes in the earth.  
  
Shadow was still in the arena, and Tom recalled him. *Besides, shadow should be at its limits, give or take. Dark types just don't do well against other dark types... I don't have a bug or fighting pokemon... In fact I don't think any of my pokemon knows any moves of those types... Well there is electabuzz... He learnt cross chop from Shalla's machamp during one of the training sessions... Oh well I'll just see how this goes.*  
  
Muromasa grinned, and threw his pokeball. A reptilian pokemon emerged, its jade armour-like hide revealing the sheer power and indestructibility this species brandished.  
  
In a nanosecond, Tom considered his options. *Oh my articuno... This thing takes negligible damage from physical attacks... Electabuzz is out of the question. He would never get close enough to use cross chop. Magmar and eevee would not be able to hurt it much... Alakazam and shadow are not well enough... not that they would be able to do anything... Kingdra and skarmory both have advantages, but I haven't been using skarmory much lately... so I guess I should give him a chance.*  
  
That decided, Tom threw the pokeball. The gigantic metallic bird popped out of the tiny ball, screeching loudly. *I don't think I ever truly realised how much skarmory has grown. He is larger than me now... In my eyes, he's always been, and will always be the hatching that I received him as.*  
  
Skarmory extended his wingspan to the full four metres, and took off, gliding around in the enclosed space. Seizing the opportunity to study his adversary, the steel type took in all the details.  
  
Tyranitar roared, a bellow of challenge seldom answered in the wild; for this was a solitary pokemon which can change the landscape itself. Skarmory however shrieked a retort, earning a vicious glare from the land predator.  
  
The battle commenced, with skarmory adopting a couple of agilities to gather velocity, accelerating to just below the sound barrier. Tyranitar, never one to be intimidated from being unable to see the enemy, unleashed a hyper beam -- or rather, it tried to. The fair globe formed in tyranitar's mouth, gaining in size and radiance. Skarmory, high up in the sky, opened up its wings more, breaking sharply. His nemesis tracked the bird of prey, preparing to release the pent-up energy.  
  
For a moment, the duo's gazes met, providing an insight that Tom had never noticed before -- that skarmory and tyranitar are alike in spirit, and this was now more than just a pokemon battle... it was a match determining the rights to the territory.  
  
Skarmory, a glint in his eyes, started glowing with a mauve hue. The lilac swirl gathered and concentrated on skarmory's chest area, pulsing in an odd rhyme. Tyranitar, just about to fire the beam, widened his eyes, and lost all control, the built-up power exploding.  
  
Whereas a normal attack would do next to naught to such a pokemon, this one occurred within, bypassing all the armour -- in the mouth; where no protection existed.  
  
A veil of dust rose from the force, shrouding the scene from human eyes. Skarmory, knowing well where the dark type was, dived, neatly trimming his speed to a manageable level. His wings moulded into organic metal, trembling slightly from controlling the plunge and containing the attack.  
  
Tyranitar started thrashing, not at all helping the situation -- except to create minor tremors... to which skarmory was immune. Muromasa frowned, but a slight smile played across his lips, prompting Tom to wonder if skarmory was adopting such a good strategy.  
  
*Nevermind. its too late to stop anyway.* Skarmory crashed into the beast, wing-first.  
  
The potential energy from the height had been converted into kinetic energy upon falling, only to be transferred to tyranitar ensuing contact.  
  
The titan fell to the ground, now just deadweight.  
  
Skarmory cried out triumphantly.  
  
***  
  
"Er Mr Muromasa, what was the prize again?" Tom juggled the circular badge in his hand. It was dark -- as in it almost seemed to *absorb* light, creating a darkness that could almost be described as *evil*.  
  
"Well, it is the service of helping your... *shadow* as you call it."  
  
"What?!"  
  
"Well it seems that shadow..." He was interrupted by a squawk.  
  
"Skar!"  
  
"What?"  
  
*He has to go, Tom.* Alakazam popped out of his pokeball, eyeing Tom wearily.  
  
"WHAT?!"  
  
*Skarmory has obligations. When you first saw him, skarmory was the weakest in the flock. Now, he has to go back -- at least to try for the position of the leader; to protect...*  
  
"I know *that*... But why now?"  
  
*You know that most pokemon can hear sound beyond your range right?*  
  
"Yes..."  
  
*Well skarmory has just gotten a message indicating the leader has died, and it was a request for all the skarmories from the flock to gather.*  
  
"I see... So he has to go?"  
  
*Yes.*  
  
***  
  
In the pokecentre "hotel", Tom looked at Shalla, sitting beside him.  
  
"Shalla, I don't think I can go on like this." Tom looked at Shalla, a hint of a quiver in his voice. 


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14  
  
"What?" Shalla blinked, unable... *unwilling* to believe what she had just heard. "Do you mean to say that you want to give up? *now*?"  
  
Tom glanced up, thoroughly confused, and then smiled.  
  
"I meant the way I trained. I have less than eight pokemon. Hardly enough for the diversity I *need* for the championships... assuming I can get that far with those whom I have. I trust them, but the league isn't just a training ground."  
  
"So... What exactly are you saying?"  
  
"I'm going to catch more. Take a break from badge collecting; get all the pokemon I can... Within reason."  
  
Tom rose, and hugged Shalla. "And I have to do this... alone."  
  
Shalla's head jerked up, her eyes wide. "WHAT?!!  
  
"I think... that I need to be more concentrated..."  
  
"And you feel that by sending *me* off somewhere or going off by *yourself*, you can do that? Huh! Do you?"  
  
"I didn't..." Tom started.  
  
Without waiting for an answer Shalla stormed off.  
  
"...mean it that way." He completed the sentence, and sighed.  
  
***  
  
"Is it done?"  
  
"Yes." Mr Muromasa stepped aside, revealing two pokemon.  
  
Shadow... and another one... shadow.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"I told you before, shadow had a split personality; you should have seen some sign of it before. All I did as to force them apart, creating two separate pokemon -- the two personalities that developed in the original shadow."  
  
"Oh yes, forgive me; I didn't sleep well last night." Indeed, Tom looked like he had just awakened... from the grave, with dark circles around his eyes, and a pale complexion. He thought back to some battles. Shadow -- fighting impulsively with Shalla's pokemon, as compared to it delivering surgical blows against the gengar and alakazam."  
  
As his train of thought led him to the *ex*-gym leader, Tom felt a stab in his heart. *Forgive me.*  
  
"Thank you Mr Muromasa. I suppose I will give you the more... *impulsive* shadow; I couldn't control it anyway."  
  
"*Her*, Tom. *Her*."  
  
Tom blinked, totally lost.  
  
"It appears the split personality actually created two halves, each of a different gender..."  
  
"So the one I'm er... receiving is a he?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"I see."  
  
Tom looked at the two, but could discern any differences between them.  
  
"How do I..."  
  
"Look at their skin..."  
  
Tom stared. Whereas the original shadow's had tiny star-like dots twinkling, now only one of them had it. The other was just the light-absorbing skin. However, the one with the stars didn't seem to suck up light, instead just appearing as a dark blanket.  
  
"So which one is which?"  
  
One of the shadow interrupted Mr. Muromasa's reply.  
  
{I am.}  
  
"Okay..."  
  
{Shall we leave?}  
  
"Why are you in such a hurry?"  
  
{The reason, Tom, that we became one in the first place is because we were mating, or what could pass for it. This is just a ritual to ensure that another will be born after we fade away. If we stay near each other for too long, there is a minute chance that we may fuse again.}  
  
"Does permanent fusing always take place?"  
  
{No... There was an accident... We were captured, at our moment of weakness -- just after fusing.}  
  
"So that's how you were *weakened* enough to be caught?"  
  
{Yes.}  
  
"You don't chat much, do you?"  
  
{No.}  
  
"Alright then. See ya in the league, Mr. Muromasa!"  
  
Tom waved, and walked on... and whipped around.  
  
*Is that... who I think it is?*  
  
{Yes.}  
  
Tom grinned; maybe he wouldn't have to chase after her, after all.  
  
***  
  
The pokemon and his trainer strolled to the woods, their image fading in the twilight. A figure, clothed in a lavender robe, silently followed, barely noticed.  
  
Another silhouette materialised, and darted towards the original figure in a running tackle, and a brief yet fierce struggle broke out, illuminated for a couple of seconds by an azure glow.  
  
The forest regained its tranquillity as tussle ended.  
  
Tom, locking his still-struggling quarry in place, spoke first.  
  
"I'm sorry."  
  
The figure stilled, lying on the blanket of leaves, head turned to one side, seemingly avoiding Tom's unfaltering gaze.  
  
A split second later, the person broke out, dashing away.  
  
No movement was seen, save for a blinding flash, but Tom appeared behind the runner, and grabbed her at her waist. Shalla paused, out of breath, shivering in his grasp. Astonishment rode freely on her beautiful face, lingering there until Tom spoke again, his warm breath on her ear.  
  
"I'm sorry", he repeated. Gently twisting her around, facing to resistance, their lips met. All doubts that Shalla harboured about his feelings towards her abruptly vanished, replaced by a throbbing need.  
  
As Tom withdrew, they were both left breathless, although Shalla had tears in her eyes.  
  
Tersely, Shalla snapped. "I want a commitment."  
  
Tom chuckled softly, took her hand, and pressed something into it.  
  
Surprised, Shalla glanced at it.  
  
A sapphire rested in her palm, and even in the darkness, Shalla could make out the details.  
  
It was oval, perfectly smooth as far as she could tell. its shade was that of the cobalt sky; of the serene seas -- and of Tom's eyes. As the last realisation set in, Shalla smiled, and then looked up at Tom, a twinkle in her eye. "What's this?"  
  
"I fashioned it last night -- something mewtwo taught me. The jewel is real, of course, although it took a bit of effort to find something that large. I imbued some of my psychic potential inside."  
  
Tom took the necklace, the silvery platinum chains seeming very delicate, and with both hands, placed it on Shalla's neck, pushing back her curtain of hair.  
  
Even as he did so, Tom declared, "This is my pledge to you, that no matter what happens, I will be at your side. Even for the brief moments that I am not there, a part of me will always remain with you."  
  
As the statement ended, the jewel rested on Shalla's chest, an inner flame burning in it. The radiance spread, enveloping the lady.  
  
"Tom? What's happening!" Shalla's voice had more than a tint of fear in it.  
  
"Don't worry, that's just part of the bonding. To prevent anyone but you from wearing or touching it -- anyone who does will weld an awful amount of power -- I placed a trigger on it. The first to wear it will be its only owner -- although I can still touch it."  
  
Shalla relaxed, and let the flame rippled over her, shimmering and illuminating the area for a while before subsiding.  
  
Shalla laughed, and hugged Tom. *Thank you...*  
  
"Uh... I think we need to work on that... Try not to use telepathy too much. It really draws unwanted attention, something that you definitely don't need -- trust me."  
  
"I will."  
  
***  
  
They were in charisific valley, Tom and Shalla, trying to capture some of the more exotic and rare species of pokemon that dwelled near the area. Yet as the day dragged on, their aims dwindled, shrinking down to locating even the slightest sign of a pokemon.  
  
"Look!"  
  
Tom did, and saw, much to his horror, observed a dog fight -- between dragons -- five of them.  
  
Four were charizards, and one was a dragonite... at least, it looked like one. Tom did not really recognise the pokemon, especially since its overall shape was that of a dragonite, yet instead of two "feelers", there were three horn-like protrusions located on a bony plate on the head. The "hands" were much like a charizard's claws, its tail forked out into three at the end, each tip dangerously sharp, was now dripping with blood. There was no fixed colour scheme for the pokemon -- the shade changed ever-so-often, following a pattern that Tom knew existed, yet could not figure out at the moment.  
  
The fight had obviously been in progress for quite some time. The unknown pokemon was showing some signs of fatigue, extreme weariness marking each and every movement.  
  
The deadly dance above continued, the four charizards throwing huge fiery projectiles at their opponent, who returned more than his fair share of the damage.  
  
"Try your pokedex."  
  
Reluctantly, Tom activated the device, more than a little unwilling to use a machine more popularly known as a beginner's guide.  
  
Pokedex display:  
Name: Terranite  
Gender: Female  
Evolution: Dratini, Dragonair, Dragonite/Terranite  
Type: Dragon/Flying  
Resistance: Fire, Water, Grass, Fighting, Bug  
Immunities: Ground  
Weaknesses: Ice, Rock, Dragon  
Further Information: This evolution of dragonair has only recently been discovered, primarily because it only evolves under the influence of all four elemental stones at the moment of evolution into a dragonite, and even then the chances of it happening is very minute. The factors involved have not been fully discovered. This pokemon has the ability to change its type temporarily. its colour changes along with its type, and it gains the properties of that particular element. However, only the flying type can be changed, for example, Dragon/???.  
NOTE: If found, please notify relevant authorities, namely Professors Ivy, Oak or Elm.  
***PROCEED WITH CAUTION***  
  
Exasperated, Tom glanced up again, noting that now only one charizard was left -- one that was bleeding from a dozen different places. That...*thing* sure is strong... It took down three or more charizards, and is still taking on another.  
  
Yet, this was not the case; it became more obvious with each passing moment. The terranite was faltering, making mistakes, and more importantly, its type changing was getting slower and slower.  
  
Tom grimaced, and rushed up, hurling a wad of hastily gathering psychic energy at the charizard. It missed, but the distraction for the charizard gave the terranite an opening for an attack. And attack she did.  
  
Now a brilliant aqua shade, the terranite gushed a huge volume of water at the charizard, following up with a golden bolt of lightning. The charizard fell from the sky, writhing and twitching involuntarily.  
  
Tom gaped, as the huge dragon crashed -- its size was apparently larger than Tom thought; and the terranite was even larger.  
  
Trice the bulk of the average dragonite (although nobody ever calls a dragonite "average"), the terranite drooped, showing none of the grace and agility that it had possessed before. Moments later, it followed the footsteps of its adversary, dropping like deadweight.  
  
*Damn.*  
  
As if by reflex, Tom flung an ultra ball, propelling it at insane speeds through telekinesis. A crimson flash, and the ball fell to the ground, bursting open as it did.  
  
The massive pokemon emerged, and glared at Tom, although she was obvious far too weak to fight.  
  
Tom treaded carefully, holding his hands out in a universally non-threatening gesture. "I won't hurt you..."  
  
The dragon back away, shrinking away from his touch.  
  
**DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH ME!**  
  
"Argh!" Tom clutched his head with both hands, and collapsed in a heap, shaken by the overwhelming telepathic voice.  
  
Shivering, he looked up weakly at the terranite, wincing as she continued, although in a slightly softer tone.  
  
**If you filthy humans think you can perform all those DISGUSTING experiments on me, then think again!**  
  
In a rage, she lashed out, and the landscape exploded in flames.  
  
*Damn...* Tom created a shield, absorbing the brunt of the attack. He tried to calm his nerves. *Shalla will be all right... She has the sapphire... Shalla will be all right... She has the sapphire...*  
  
**DAMN YOU ALL!!!**  
  
The elements seemed to agree with the dragon's mood, and the scene erupted into devastation. Tom prayed, that when and if the maelstrom settled, something would be left of charisific valley.  
  
*No... I have to stop this.* The clarity of the thought surprised himself, but Tom ignored the origin of the burst of determination, seeking only to achieve his goal. Harnessing his abilities, Tom raced forward, fighting against the raging storm, striving to get there -- before it was too late, and nothing was left to save.  
  
On the way, Tom glimpsed a flash of orange, and paused.  
  
It was a charizard, the last one to fall, if Tom remembered correctly. Zipping there, Tom pressed a pokeball to her scaly skin, and found, in accordance with his observation, that nothing more was needed -- the fire type went in without a struggle.  
  
Hurrying, Tom once again fought against the currents, finding the challenge to be similar to battling the elements themselves. He paused, as the full import of the idea struck him. *The elements... fighting against them...*  
  
Reaching his goal at last, Tom fished around his backpack for the device, and firmly held the gigaball in place, forcefully squeezing it shut as the ruby energy disappeared. Psychically reinforcing the ball's lock, Tom breathed a sigh of relief as the weather became more peaceful.  
  
However, the gigaball seemed to be shuddering, nearly breaking past Tom's vice-like telekinetic grip on it. The inevitable happened, and the cherry indicator light stopped flashing. Tom heaved for breath, as he slumped to the ground, exhausted.  
  
***  
  
"May I help you?"  
  
"Yes; I would like to have these two pokemon healed please."  
  
"Of course. Take a seat over there, and they will be ready shortly."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
Tom returned to the row of seats, and looped his arm around Shalla, collapsing. He had teleported both of them all the way to Goldenrod City, hoping to find something in the Bug-catching tournament.  
  
Of course, the priority was to heal Tom's new charizard and terranite.  
  
A few minutes later, Tom arose to the nurse's wave, and went up to the counter, retrieving the two capture balls with a smile.  
  
Sighing, Tom picked up his backpack, and headed to a more isolated area. He uttered a prayer, and released the charizard. It emerged, and gazed coolly at Tom, studying him as a predator does a prey. Tom shuddered under the penetrating glare, but stood his ground, starting off with a light tone, explaining how he had "captured" the pokemon.  
  
In reply, the fire dragon grunted softly, forcing Tom to call alakazam for a translation.  
  
"Is the rest of my family... gone?"  
  
Tom looked down, not knowing how to phrase his answer. "Yes, and most of charisific valley as well. But you have to understand what the terranite is going through -- I don't, and I won't pretend to, but I do promise you this. I will tell you everything once I know the reason."  
  
"You want to become my trainer." It was not a question, but rather, a statement, echoing sentiments of hurt and pain. "Very well, but you have to defeat me in battle."  
  
As Tom moved to withdraw a pokeball, the charizard violently shook her head. "No. Not your pokemon. *You.*"  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Without pokemon, the trainers themselves always fight the pokemon to weaken it. To respect you, I have to be defeated by you, and not your pokemon."  
  
Tom paused. *Is it worth it?* The answer came to him moments later, and he accepted the challenge.  
  
*Tom, no....* The telepathic voice came from both Shalla and alakazam in synch, but Tom just smiled, and waved his hand.  
  
Readying himself, Tom nodded, a signal for the match to begin.  
  
Tom charged, having no other option. His zigzag trail reduced accuracy for any projectile, but the charizard just looked on, curiously studying his approach.  
  
The reptile lifted off when Tom was a few metres away, obviously thinking that that was that, knowing that there was no way a human could have a ranged attack -- or rather, no ordinary human.  
  
Tom screeched to a halt, and grinned, immobilising his opponent with a glare. Both exuding indigo shades, Tom gathered his concentration, and levitated up, orientating himself to face the charizard.  
  
His body language clearly read: do I need to continue?  
  
The charizard frowned, and replied. "Perhaps, I was too hasty in my judgement. I will continue to train, and remain to serve you. But you must promise to rebuild my former home, or help in doing it."  
  
Tom grinned, and thanked the gods for the lack of bloodshed. However even as he expressed his gratitude, he knew the real trial was still to come.  
  
The gigaball was experimental, originally designed to have a far stronger lock than any other pokeball; yet it was horribly expensive and inaccurate, and there were very few in production. He had gotten this one from the Silph Co. just after the save-the-world thingy, in which many people grossly over played his part.  
  
Tom's muscles knotted up, but he nevertheless took the gigaball containing terranite, and threw it, hoping for everything to go smoothly.  
  
To his horror, when the ball was released from his hand, he saw, in a moment of clarity that the charizard was still out. 


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15  
  
"NO!"  
  
But it was too late.  
  
The gigaball burst open, and a snarling terranite emerged, eyes bloodshot and muscles bunched for action.  
  
The two pokemon immediately fell into defensive postures, adopting a proper stance. Though alakazam did not translate, Tom had no problems understanding the first word.  
  
"YOU!"  
  
The terranite glared at Tom. **You miserable weakling! You caught me without effort on your part, and as if that is not enough, you have brought one of those here just to spite me. Do not flatter yourself into thinking I will cooperate with you.** She turned away, staring at charizard with revulsion and hatred in her eyes.  
  
*Great start there Tom. Any moment now they will start hugging each other and laugh like old friends...* Tom ignored the traitorous nagging voice at the back of his mind; or at least, he tried to -- how was one to remain impartial to a person that he could not help but listen to?  
  
"STOP IT! BOTH of you. Now terranite, please, just explain to us why you are so pissed off with the rest of the world."  
  
**Pissed off? PISSED OFF?! I'll show you...**  
  
[size=7]**SHUT UP!**[/size] Tom hollered, tired of the whole affair. The pokemon halted in mid-stride, quivering slightly, obviously in the midst of some physical attack.  
  
*Just tell us, please.*  
  
The terranite, slightly shaken, her eyes shooting daggers at Tom, nonetheless began the narration, albeit rather unwillingly.  
  
The Dragon's Tale  
My name, as my parents called me, is Shyru, or rather, that's the closest human equivalent. I am a hundred and forty years old, give or take a couple. As far as I can tell, this is young, for a dragon type; kingdras live up to four hundred years.  
  
I hatched in a cave near what is now Blackthorn, and as a young dratini, I learnt various attacks and studied under the guidance of my fellows and parents. It was a decent life, and I knew nothing but bliss.  
  
When I was fifty or so, the first humans ventured into the cave, the first pair being Lance's ancestors. They did not do anything at the start, and being naive and innocent, I trusted them. They came each day, with food and the like, growing closer to us -- the dratini.  
  
And then, the day arrived. One of them attempted to capture me, and sent out a rhydon -- obviously they did not know much about dragons back then. I defeated it with ease, which seemed to shock the person. Scowling, he sent out a pidgeot and a kingler. Both were no match for me, as weak as I was compared to my peers.  
  
And then, he sent out a jynx. I had never before felt such agony, as the snowstorm ripped through me, encasing my entire body in a block of ice. Which is when I evolved, bursting free of the frost. I utilised an attack that few of my seniors even dared to attempt -- outrage. The energy killed the trainer, completely disintegrating him as well as his pokemon, including those still in their pokeballs.  
  
I became an outcast, shunned by the masses, pitied by none. For the ancient code forbade killing except for food or survival. Even though I did have ample reason to feel threatened, the council of dragons decided that I was too powerful for my own good, and eventually banned me from ever returning to my hometown, and it seems even charizards abide to it, fighting me on sight.  
  
After being cast into the merciless world, I wondered around, not knowing what to do, where to go to. Roaming the world, I found many pokemon, challenging each and every one of them, hoping, someday, to be accepted within the dragon community.  
  
I grew stronger with each passing day, but did not evolve, my whole being fighting against the idea of changing once again -- I thought, at that time that my evolving before my peers even though I was weaker than them got me kicked out. I continued like this for a very long time, eventually becoming much larger and obtaining much control over the weather.  
  
A year ago, I stumbled onto an island, where the remnants of Team Rocket -- outcasts of human society. They were not the average grunts or small-time agents, but rather the hardcore, those who held the criminal organisation together even when it was ripped apart by raging internal political warfare. Some of the higher ups, after Gionnavi's departure, made grabs for power. The fight eventually tore the Rockets apart, and they disbanded the "wanna-bes".  
  
The small group, along with a few scientists stayed on the island, carrying on research for weapons that may mean their return to power.  
  
I was captured -- not defeated, mind you, but shot with a tranquilliser. I was kept in a room -- one that seemed to neutralise all my powers, leaving me weak and prone to anything they would have of me. They did things to me -- injections, horrible operations and what not. Everything is foggy in my mind, and I later found that I was kept drugged all the time.  
  
They then left me alone by and large, for a few months, during the time I somehow regained my strength. At the end, I broke out, which was a few months ago. The rockets were in turmoil over some disaster or other that was on going. I escaped then, and continued my roaming, this time with a target in mind -- the destruction of all life.  
  
I triggered volcanic eruptions and avalanches; large-scale earthquakes and blizzards; tornadoes and whirlpools. The natural disasters drew no attention to myself, although many believed that the "natural" disasters were too much in synch with each other, they just wasn't enough evidence for scientists to convince the authorities to launch a full-scale search for the culprit -- me.  
  
And then, I came to pallet town, where I observed Professor Oak and his assistant, Tracey working on some of the pokemon. They touched a part of me that I had buried for a long time. The sight of the duo tending to a wound with gentle loving care shook me to my core, reviving old memories, that of the happier times in the dragon cave.  
  
I landed, and thrust myself into their hands, generally living a contented life... Until something else occurred.  
  
The Professor convinced me that they would not hurt me, and started experiments on me with evolution stones. I was nervous for the first few trials, but nothing came of them; no pain, no changes, so I relaxed, and let them do, as they will.  
  
In all the time, I had always had the urge to evolve; yet I held back, not daring to change. And one day, someone had the bright idea of using all four elemental stones at once. It distracted me, and somehow, I became *this*.  
  
The evolution was horrendous, each moment pure agony as the process wore on; it took two hours for all the changes to stabilise. The horns that you see now felt like they were pulled out of my skull; the wings weren't so bad, but everything else was just too much for me to take. When everything was done, I ran away, destroying everything in my way, and wounding Professor Oak, who sought to stop me.  
  
Some of the flying pokemon who reacted fast enough flew up to me, attempting to convince me. Still feeling the pain from evolution, I summoned a thunderstorm, and flew off in the cover.  
  
They named me after my original evolution, with a twist implemented for my causing the terror.  
  
I heard that they attempted the combined stone evolution on a few others, but nothing happened.  
*END*  
  
Shyru paused, and looked at Tom, drained yet somehow challenging him to deny that his life had been hard.  
  
The charizard lowered her head, and whispered, "Sorry. I had no idea."  
  
**Of course you didn't! How could you have!**  
  
She lifted her head again, glowering at Shyru. "Why wouldn't I know what it is like to be alone, huh! You killed my entire family and more besides when you destroyed charisific valley. I had friends, but they are gone, thanks to you..."  
  
The argument would have gone on, but Tom interfered, seeking to stop it before the dispute grew to a level, which he could not handle. "Stop it. Both of you." Tom turned to the charizard. "Especially you. You may have lost your family, and nobody can deny that the grief is still fresh in your mind, but at least you can cherish memories of good times that you shared with them; Shyru cannot. Her family shunned her. As far as I can tell, that is far worse than what you are going through. The fact that she has already bore the anguish for many years does not help; it merely extends the period for which she suffered."  
  
Shyru managed, in the midst of a defiant stare, to shoot charizard a smirk. Tom switched to her. "Don't think that you are not at fault here. I may not be able to fully comprehend what you are going through, but I do know this. Even if you succeed in destroying the whole of humanity, that will only leave you felling empty, more lonely than ever before. Furthermore, revenge is just a way for you to succumb to your own dark desires, to take it out on innocents. Neither does it provide any solace for you to be unaware of just what is responsible for your present condition..."  
  
In a soft voice, Shyru interrupted. *Excuse me, but I do know for a fact what caused this transformation, or at least, I have a very good idea. Over a century of knowledge does have its advantages you know.* Her voice contained just a tint of pride, barely discernable, and Tom would have missed it had she not smiled faintly.  
  
*When the scientists at the Team Rocket base injected me with all those stuff, at least some of them changed my genes to a extent that urged me to evolve. It was strong, but not so much of a challenge to me, since I'd been holding back for years on my nature evolution. I suspect, in fact, that those chemicals were somehow forcing a somewhat unnatural evolution upon me. When the four elemental stones came into contact with me simultaneously, I was unable to hold back any longer, and evolved.*  
  
Tom creased up his brows. "But why?"  
  
*You are aware, of course, that elemental stones are simply stones with radiation.* Shyru waited for a nod before continuing. *The influx of all four stones at once, was apparently enough for me to lose my concentration. Probably any four stones would have done the trick, but that was the "combination" that they chose, which is why those information exist in your pokedex. They probably haven't found out that this would be useless on a normal dragonair.*  
  
"You still want revenge, don't you. Despite all that has been said; despite some of your suffering being eased."  
  
Shyru remained silent, consent evident in her body language.  
  
Tom pondered about it for a short while, and beckoned to Shalla, discussing in whispers. He turned back to the dragon, and spoke in a clear, strong voice. "All right. We will help you with your revenge." Shyru blinked, obviously not expecting such a response.  
  
"But." She offered a sigh of vexation at this.  
  
"But, you will not kill them. We will hand them over to the authorities, and that's all."  
  
*Why?*  
  
"Killing will not achieve..."  
  
*I meant, why help me.*  
  
"Because you need the help, like it or not. Those, according to you, are the Rocket extremists. They will not balk at just a couple of attacks. By your own statement, they more or less achieved success with you. Most probably, the scientists there would have dozens of other experiments; maybe new pokemon even more powerful than you. The armed forces would be crap against anything like that, and you alone wouldn't do much good. I will help you, because I can, not because of pity."  
  
*You have other reasons as well, no?* Shyru chuckled, a sound strangely akin to that of a dragonite. Tom flushed at the question, but did not bother concealing his motives. Shyru turned to charizard.  
  
*I know Tom's pokemon will help. Will you?*  
  
Charizard hesitated, and nodded. Shyru chortled gently. *Give me some time to think. I will get back to you by midnight.* She flew off, and in seconds, was no more than a speck in the sky.  
  
Tom gazed up, and realised how dangerously easy it would be to become over-reliant on Shyru, if she agreed to the unspoken deal.  
  
He turned to charizard, and grinned. "Want to meet your new team mates?" Her eyes sparkled.  
  
"Come on out then. All of you."  
  
The field itself was brightened for a couple of seconds, as the ivory lights exploded from six different points. Alakazam, magmar, electabuzz, kingdra, rhydon, shadow, and eevee emerged, and Tom felt a pang of regret -- that skarmory was not among them. *He had to do what he had to do. I'll see him again some day.* Tom calmed himself, and introduced the various pokemon, noting with satisfaction, that all... *almost* all the pokemon were rather pleased with their new acquaintances. Magmar seemed worried, anxiety and unease marking his face.  
  
Tom walked over, careful to apply a thin membrane of psychic shielding before laying his hands on his fiery hide. Gently patting his head, Tom whispered so that only magmar could hear. "Don't worry, I'll never replace any of you." Magmar stopped his brooding, and took a peek at his trainer, grateful for the reassurance.  
  
Soon they were all mixing, and for those that could, prancing around in joy.  
  
It was soon nighttime, and Tom let everyone stay outside for the night, some chatting, most honing their skills in mock battles. Tom felt a tentative touch on his shoulder, and smiled, placing his own hand on Shalla's. "Come on, lets go over to somewhere more private." Shalla led the way, and they sat, some distance away from the main group.  
  
She sighed deeply, not of exasperation but of contentment, laying her head on Tom's right shoulder. They sat there, on the sloping ground, side by side, looking up at the night sky.  
  
"Tom?"  
  
"What would you do if... What in the world... what is *that*?"  
  
Tom glanced at where she was pointing, just in time to see a huge form eclipse the moon, and many other constellations. "Oh... that. Looks like I'm getting my answer now."  
  
Shyru landed, hardly making any sound. She observed the small party going on, her eyes a well, reflecting... an emotion... distress? Jealousy? Tom was not too sure.  
  
The duo waited in silence, perking up as the terranite turned to them.  
  
*You have other reasons, don't you.*  
  
Tom wondered at the tone of voice, but he couldn't place it.  
  
*Your reasons for becoming a master. its not just to be the champion, not just to create a better bond with your pokemon. its not even to understand more about pokemon... There's something else.*  
  
Tom waited, unsure if a response was expected... or even, *welcome*.  
  
Lowering her head, speaking as if having great difficulty, Shyru started again. *I... would like to go with you... on your journey.*  
  
Tom beamed, his mouth cracking open in a grin.  
  
*But.*  
  
The single word came, and his mouth closed again.  
  
*I will not go into one of those, unless absolutely necessary...* Shyru indicated Tom's belt, where the pokeballs hung. He nodded.  
  
*I will stay up in the air, and if you need me, just call out. Loud or not, it does not matter; I can sense your intentions. Second condition. Other than what you already promised to do for me, I want you to help me find out why. Why I was banished from my clan, my family.* Tom's mind went numb, but he just replied in a firm tone, "I will do my best."  
  
Shyru nodded, took off for the air once again.  
  
Tom gazed at her rapidly disappearing shadow in the backdrop canopy of stars, and dropped back to the grass, satisfied. "Sorry Shalla, what were you about to say?"  
  
"Nothing..." She blushed, turning aside.  
  
"Come on, tell me." Tom pleaded, stretching over to face her.  
  
"No!"  
  
"Pleeeeeease?"  
  
"No!" Shalla giggled at the pathetic sight Tom made.  
  
"Pretty pleeeease?"  
  
"Nah." Shalla tackled Tom, thrusting him to the ground, both striving for the upper position.  
  
Tom ended up on top, and everything lapsed into silence, even the wild pokemon in the area quieting somewhat. The pair did not notice though; all that was in their world... was each other.  
  
Pulling him closer, Shalla's eyes closed, inclining her head slightly. Tom twisted the other way, and slowly, their lips met.  
  
For one, eternal moment, their shared heartbeats thumped on. 


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16  
  
Tom awoke, in Shalla's arms. He gave her a light kiss, and gently pried her off.  
  
Some way off, charizard and Shyru stood, deep in conversation. Tom wandered away, not particularly willing to break up their moment.  
  
*You're certainly up early.*  
  
*Yup.*  
  
*Anything the matter?*  
  
Tom glanced at alakazam wearily. *Actually, there is. Could you help me understand pokemon?*  
  
*What do you mean?*  
  
*As in the language.*  
  
Alakazam's eyebrows rose, and he stood, silent for a few moments, deep in thought.  
  
*I'm not too sure. Wouldn't it be simpler to just read their minds?*  
  
*Well, firstly it doesn't work on dark types, and I don't want to violate their privacy. After all, any psychic probes will pick up lots of unwanted "garbage" that may just contain something that the pokemon wants to be kept secret.*  
  
*All right then. But, don't expect this to be easy. its very complicated; a slightly different tone of the same word may mean something else altogether. Those...*  
  
A small shadow materialised out of nowhere, interrupting alakazam's "lesson". {I may be able to help with that.}  
  
*How?*  
  
{I can, under the right circumstances, help to transfer memories, knowledge, or sometimes even personality traits or quirks from one being to another.}  
  
*I see. What's the catch?*  
  
{There isn't any. But the condition is that the two must have a really close relationship, and their minds must not reject each other. Alakazam is out of the picture; there is just too large a risk of psychic feedback...}  
  
Alakazam spoke, glaring at shadow. *Then why don't you do it?*  
  
Shadow paused, and considered it.  
  
Alakazam reverted to a persuasive tone. *You're psychic, and your dark element eliminates psychic feedback, as you call it. Besides, you would be the best candidate since you are the only one who actually understands this... link thing.*  
  
{I am not sure... But its worth a try, I suppose.}  
  
*How does it start?*  
  
{Just stand there; and do not move. Concentrate on my words; I shall try to establish contact. Leave yourself open. Drop all shielding that you have in place, and try to accept my entry.}  
  
All was silent, as shadow knotted his brows in concentration. Sweat broke out all over his body, and dripped onto the grass like tiny, dark pearls, albeit all of the drops seemed surreal.  
  
Tom seemed fine, although his limbs were twitching uncontrollably, as if he was having an attack of some sort.  
  
Ghostly tendrils drifted out of shadow, inching towards Tom's forehead. The wisps connected gradually, growing slightly thicker.  
  
Shadow grinned, and relaxed. Tom clutched his head, eyes wide open, as he sought to take in all the knowledge. Shadow frowned, and grasped his own head, screeching out.  
  
Both fell to the ground, the dark mauve tentacles still throbbing. Alakazam acted quickly, bringing all of his considerable powers to bear, and lashed out at the bundle.  
  
It didn't budge.  
  
A little further away, Shalla started screaming.  
  
***  
  
It was nighttime, and there was still no change, although both of them were doing better. Shalla had woken up to a sharp pain, which had not receded as yet. She laid down beside Tom, holding his hand with pale knuckles, eyes reflecting only a portion of the worry and pain she felt.  
  
Gradually, the phantom vines faded, and the duo woke up. Shalla placed a hand on her head, surprised to find the pain beginning to die away as well. She pounced on Tom, planting kisses everywhere, letting the first tears flow.  
  
Tom hugged her fiercely, and only released her when all the pokemon repeated their question: What happened.  
  
Tom shrugged in response, still holding onto Shalla, and indicated shadow, who seemed to be struggling with himself. The ghost pokemon sighed, and began his lengthy explanation.  
  
{It seems, that when I relaxed, all my memories and knowledge flooded through the link. None of the personality traits were transferred, since that takes a lot of concentrations, but basically he has inherited everything that I know.}  
  
Shalla breathed again, not even realising that she had been holding it. She frowned. *Something has been left unsaid.* "Then why do you look so glum?"  
  
Shadow hesitated, and Tom took the opportunity to answer. "Shalla, shadow has the knowledge of all his ancestors..." He allowed time for the fact, and its implications to sink in, before continuing. "I'm sure you all know what that means."  
  
Everyone nodded numbly, people and pokemon alike. Shyru barged in, excitement mixed with anxiety bleeding into her telepathic voice. *Does that mean that you know things that shadow saw?*  
  
Tom did not see where the statement led. "Yes."  
  
*So you know why I was banished?*  
  
Tom scowled, searched through his new memories, glancing through them.  
  
"Yes."  
  
*Come on, out with it.*  
  
"Shadow was at the council of dragons' meeting. I'll let him explain it, since it would be best for it to come from him."  
  
Shadow shook his head. {No... There is a better candidate; charizard.}  
  
"Huh?"  
  
{She is the grand daughter of the ex-charizard representative in the council, and at that time, her ancestor was in the council.}  
  
Everyone turned to charizard expectantly, Shyru particularly eager to obtain the information.  
  
Tom smiled weakly, encouraging charizard. She sighed, and started. "This was passed on to me by my grandmother, before she was killed in an assignment. I will tell this, as best as I remember it."  
  
She started swaying, from side to side with eyes closed, and spoke.  
  
As she narrated the story, Tom seemed to hear the words as the council member spoke them, long ago.  
  
The Council's Dilemma  
There was a legend, one that told us about what would come to pass, should a kill ever happen in the dragon cave. It only applies, of course, if the death is caused deliberately, and through anger; it would not mean anything, for example, if you kill a magikarp there for food.  
  
The legend goes thus.  
  
Should the death occur, the culprit shall forever become evil, having caused bloodshed because of anger in a sacred place. He shall have an unnatural evolution, and although strong, all that he would think of is destruction and death... and causing them.  
  
  
Until saved.  
  
That's the gist of the myth, as I know it.  
  
Different versions have sprung up over and over; but one thing was clear in every single one of them. That dragon must not destroy.  
  
The council didn't know what to do. The councillors were divided. There was a vote, and here is the result, whether they were for the banishing, or not.  
  
  
Dragonite: For  
Kingdra: Against  
Gyarados: For  
Charizard: For  
  
  
Skarmory: Against  
Lapras: Against  
Ampharos: For  
Aerodactyl: For  
  
They agreed finally, to ensure that the dragon never set foot inside the dragon cave again, not unless the "Until saved" condition was met. After much debate it was passed, that that dragon would be banned from the dragon cave until otherwise ordered by the council.  
  
Shyru turned out to be the one.  
  
As the council issued the order, they did not provide an explanation, and none attempted to ask. All sorts of rumours spread, and soon, Shyru was shunned by all, and chased out by the masses.  
  
She started causing destruction, much like the legend went, which is when the council released the details. From then, each and every dragon has agreed to prevent her from destroying any of the sacred places. We foiled several of her plans, but her control over the elements extended far above us, and soon all we could do was to protect our own territories.  
  
Shyru raged on.  
*End*  
  
By the end, Shyru was in a state of shock, and she slumped, dejected. She took off, and was out of sight in seconds, the darkness of the night claiming her.  
  
Charizard made as if to chase her, but Tom gestured for her to stop; there was no way any of them could catch up with Shyru's sheer speed. Tom sat, and pondered about the circumstances. Gradually, an idea formed in his mind, not yet complete, but probably the best shot they had.  
  
He stood up, and announced, "I'll go and find mewtwo. I doubt if anyone else would be able to help. Shyru needs to be calmed, and I just don't have enough power to do it."  
  
Shalla was the first to speak up. "But isn't she already saved?"  
  
Tom replied in a firm tone, "No. We have no way to certify that this is the case. Not yet. Don't worry, mewtwo won't do anything to me. I am going, and that is final."  
  
{Then I am going, as well.}  
  
"Why?"  
  
{Should mewtwo attempt anything, I would not be affected.}  
  
Tom nodded, and prepared to search for the one who had taught him; guided him before.  
  
"Wait."  
  
Tom turned to Shalla, a questioning look on his face.  
  
"How come I experienced some pain when you did? Just now."  
  
Tom thought back to the moment, and laughed. "The sapphire. It contains some of me, spiritually speaking. It communicates what I am feeling to you, if the emotion is strong enough, or if you learn to listen."  
  
Thinking that that was it, Tom turned away again, closing his eyes... and snapping them open when he felt hands twisting his head back, and Shalla meshing her lips to his. A few seconds later, Shalla released him, a worried look ingrained into her face. "Come back soon... or I won't forgive you."  
  
"I know. I will."  
  
With that, Tom sent a psychic pulse outwards, searching and listening to the faint echoes of weaker psychics. Then, a giant signal blossomed, and Tom smiled. Holding onto shadow, he disappearing in a flash.  
  
They teleported to a cavern, where a purplish being sat, meditating. Tom studied the standing figure, snorting at the curious resemblance to mew, and waited.  
  
Without looking backwards or opening its eyes, mewtwo spoke.  
  
*Greetings Tom.* It turned to shadow, head inclined. *You are...*  
  
{Tom calls me shadow. You may do the same.}  
  
*An appropriate name. Your presence, in the psychic realm, is but a shadow.* Mewtwo shrugged, and turned to Tom. *And I suppose you need help... Again.*  
  
Tom flushed, but nodded. "I *found* a pokemon recently... Shyru."  
  
Mewtwo focused on Tom, jerking sharply at the mention of the name. It whispered something, and signalled for Tom to continue.  
  
"Well, she just found out why she was... banned, and hasn't worked it out yet. I think she may attempt to take revenge... on her former brethren."  
  
*Ah yes. There is that problem...*  
  
"Can you help me control her? If need be."  
  
*I doubt if I am strong enough.* Mewtwo shrugged again.  
  
"All I am requesting is for you to try." Tom was faced with silence, while mewtwo thought it over.  
  
*I cannot help you in this.* It finally decided, and resumed its meditation.  
  
Tom hissed in frustration. "Why."  
  
*Because that is the way it *has* to be.* Mewtwo replied simply, and took no further notice of Tom's vexation.  
  
Shaking his head, Tom teleported back, only to find everyone asleep -- even Shalla was deep in dreamland. However, it was immediately apparent that at least a few where not in a slumber. Charizard whispered, "How did it go."  
  
Tom just shook his head.  
  
Charizard nodded. "Just as I thought."  
  
"WHAT?"  
  
"Isn't it obvious? Shyru has to be saved from his own anger. Controlling him will just compound the problem. And believe me, she will know, even if you are just contemplating the notion. Mewtwo knew this, which is why it declined."  
  
"So what am I supposed to do now?"  
  
"Step one: find him."  
  
Tom snorted. "Great. Absolutely great. I have to find a pokemon that is probably a hundred times my mass, and just as many times stronger and faster than me. I have to find him without my psychic powers, since Shyru knows how to counter that. I have to approach a pokemon capable of destroying whole cities in a blink of an eye, and I have to convince her not to take revenge on one of the most powerful pokemon communities in the world. Excellent." Tom ticked off the points on his fingers, and grunted. "I will be better off trying to win in arm wrestling against a machamp."  
  
Charizard chuckled, and offered, "That might just be easier, and decidedly less ugly."  
  
Tom glared, murmuring, "Thanks a *lot*..."  
  
***  
  
Tom approached the giant cautiously. After a few days of tracking down false leads, he had finally found Shyru.  
  
She was watching the sunrise, standing on the cliff.  
  
Tom sidled up to the edge, and stood beside her, surveying the view. Only half of the celestial body was in view, but the navy-blue ocean reflected the image. As they watched, the "sun" gradually elongated, and split into two, the last few seconds before the separation lasting a long time, as if the star itself was reluctant to break the contact.  
  
He turned to the terranite, studying the contours of her face, marvelling at the intense gaze and sculpted features, now bathed in a golden light.  
  
No words were spoken, but even without her psychic abilities, Shyru understood why Tom was there.  
  
*I made an oath to serve you, as long as you keep your part of the bargain. I will not break that promise, unless you are unable to attain your end.* Shyru stared intently at Tom.  
  
He hesitated; this could determine how everything went. "I... will help you with the Rockets, but the dragons..."  
  
Shyru nodded. *I will take care of the latter myself.*  
  
Tom felt a chill creep up his spine as she said so, but did not act on it, seeking to place her emotions. *Confusion and grief, certainly, but I don't detect anything else.*  
  
"What exactly do you plan to do?"  
  
*That is for me to know, and only myself.* Shyru lifted off, but hovered for a while. *Don't bother looking for me this time. I doubt if you can locate me.*  
  
As the dragon zoomed away, Tom muttered under his breath, "Don't be so sure, Shyru. Don't be so sure..."  
  
***  
  
The next dawn broke over Blackthorn city, accompanied by pidgeys chirping and spearows squawking. The human populace were still in bed, but their sleep was not to last much longer.  
  
A colossal form descended onto the grass, south of the metropolis. Peculiar sounds emerged from the pokemon, and suddenly all the wildlife stopped their orchestra, most fleeing the area, flapping madly.  
  
For a nerve-wreaking minute, Tom waited in suspense, in hiding on top of a tree.  
  
A deep rumble started, originating from the underground. Shyru turned her attention to the spot, and pursed her lips. The ground itself caved abruptly, and serpentine creatures swarmed out, their sleek, aqua outline creating a mass of writhing shapes.  
  
Out of the hole, a being rose, lightly swooping his wings, floating on air as if by magic. The dragonite spoke in a thunderous voice, making Tom flinch. Shyru wasn't even flustered, and shot back a reply.  
  
"Why have you come back, Banished One."  
  
*I do have a name...*  
  
"Which *I* choose not to use. Answer me."  
  
Shyru lifted her chin in a defiant manner. *I am back, because I have the right to be here. I was born here; raised here, and I shall not be denied what is rightfully mine.*  
  
"Insolent child, it is obvious that you do not understand the magnitude of your error, both past and present."  
  
*It is you who is misguided, me thinks.*  
  
"Oh really." The dragonite, slightly smaller than Shyru, tilted his head, conveying a sense of total disregard for what she had to say. His sarcasm was obvious, no effort having been made to conceal it.  
  
*Do not underestimate me, councillor. I may be young by our standards, but I do know how to fight.*  
  
"Do you, Shyru?" He finally acknowledged her presence verbally, and spoke sharply, "We shall see."  
  
He jerked his head, and what happened next was nothing short of disastrous. Ignoring the danger, Tom ran towards the conflict, shouting. 


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17  
  
"No!" Tom raced towards the fight, trying to dodge the numerous elemental projectiles that now ionised the air with each barrage.  
  
The councillor was locked in melee combat with Shyru, and the other dragons were taking pot shots at her whenever possible. Initially, Shyru gained the upper hand, deflecting attacks with her wings and unbalancing the councillor but the dragonite was fast turning the tables.  
  
Tom arrived at the scene, and amplified his voice. *STOP!*  
  
All eyes turned towards the single, comparatively frail human. Shyru and the dragonite ignored him, but the rest... attacked. Tom suddenly found himself surrounded by at least twenty of the creatures, pelted by all manners of elemental attacks.  
  
The forest was now burning, although some patches were frozen, courtesy of Shyru. Tom was not doing well, having only gotten rid of a few dratinis. He moaned, "This isn't the way it was supposed to turn out..." He glimpsed a yellow flash nearing, and moved to dodge it -- far too late.  
  
The psychic fell to the ground, only managing to utter one solitary word before being jumped upon once again.  
  
"Help!"  
  
Shyru turned at the sound, and turned. She acted swiftly, rushing in a beeline towards Tom, only to be knocked away by the dragonite in one blow. The giant dragon crashed into the ground, her fall ripping a tree out by its roots.  
  
The battle raged on, but calls pierced the incredible din. The searing sounds sliced right through to the battlers, and the lone dragonite raised his head, curious.  
  
A huge dark cloud greeted him, still far away.  
  
Unidentifiable at this range.  
  
The councillor shot up, hovering for a few moments to watch the incoming blot in the sky. "Whatever that is, its approaching mighty fast."  
  
The truth in his words could not be denied; the "cloud" quickly dissolved into a hundred grey dots. "SKAR!" The screech finally because coherent, but the dragons immediately wished otherwise. Tom, however, drooped his head tiredly, but a gleam lit up his eyes. Before collapsing, he muttered, "Thanks for coming, old buddy."  
  
And then, the metallic birds were on them, tearing with a vengeance, especially the largest and most aggressive one. It could not even be called a battle; the rapid pace ensured no casualties whatsoever on the steel types, although the same could not be said of the marine pokemon.  
  
A salvo of ivory lances was only the warning shot, although that volley alone disabled or fainted nearly half the dragons. The next second, the skarmorys were mercilessly tearing their opponents' ranks apart, savagely pounding those who still had the will to fight.  
  
Half a minute later, the onslaught stopped, and all the skarmorys landed, gathered around the two dragons remaining. The lead skarmory chirped softly, and Shyru nodded. She adopted a grim expression, and the next words rang throughout the forest.  
  
*Checkmate.*  
  
"What is it you want." The dragonite's shoulders slumped, and an air of defeat surrounded him.  
  
*For the banish to be lifted.*  
  
"No. Not unless you can prove, beyond a doubt, that the saviour has done his or her job."  
  
*You're still alive, aren't you? Likewise for the rest of your brethren.*  
  
The councillor seemed to consider this for a moment, and turned to the lead bird-of-prey. "I would have expected better of you... he-"  
  
"I did this for the sake of my former master." Skarmory interrupted, indicating Tom's unconscious form laying on a patch of grass nearby.  
  
Pondering, the dragonite remained silent for a few minutes before replying. "There shall be a meeting of the dragons in a week. You." A claw pointed at Shyru. "Ensure that you are present, as well as that human."  
  
Unchallenged, the dragonite flew off.  
  
***  
  
Tom rode on skarmory, realising just how much he had missed the pokemon. They were bathed in light, high above the sea, heading towards the meeting. Shyru was gliding along effortlessly beside them, stealing glances every now and then at the duo, basking in the joyous aura emitted by the two friends. Snatches of their shared laughter periodically wafted over, eliciting from Shyru a pang of jealously that she did not admit even to herself.  
  
Soon however, they reached their destination, and Tom reluctantly hopped off the steel bird, yet keeping a light hand on his head.  
  
It was an island, shrouded by mists. Tom marvelled at the peace that draped over the land; the serenity that he had never experienced before. There was an underlying *something* to the atmosphere that seemed to symbolise life, vibrant and pulsating throughout the place. It was a place, truly, *to live*.  
  
They stood in silence for minutes on end, but Shyru spoke in the end, unable to disguise the awe she felt.  
  
*This is Placentis, nicknamed the lost isle. Few others, except dragons are permitted. Although I was... an exception.* A trace of bitterness crept into her tone, and Tom landed a comforting hand on her back. *its name means "Mother of Life", and it is believed, among us dragons, that life actually originated here. A myth, to be sure, but the sensation that one feels on this island cannot be denied.*  
  
"I know. its almost overpowering -- in a good way."  
  
*There is a lagoon here, and the council supposingly holds all their meetings here.*  
  
Skarmory whispered, forcing the others to strain to hear him. "That is true. Follow me."  
  
Tom leaped onto his former pokemon, and the two flyers took wing, soaring into the sky. Up there, Tom finally realised that the place, contrary to its nickname, was teeming with all manners of pokemon, although all were considered dragons, or looked like dragons.  
  
They reached the peak soon, discovering a huge limestone table, with ten depressions distributed evenly around it. Remarkably, even with no apparent "roof", no effects of weathering marked the stone; it was smooth, and Tom have bet anything that it was perfectly round.  
  
All the seats were taken, except two. Skarmory strode to one, and Shyru stood on the other. As skarmory took his place, there were respectful nods from all, and whispered, "Greetings, herald." In contrast, as Shyru set down on one, bewildered looks were exchanged.  
  
The dragonite representative started. "Our main issue today, is one that we are all familiar with, except for those that were elected recently. Herald? Please." He bowed, and gestured with open palms towards skarmory.  
  
"Thank you councillor Raikor. You all know why we are here; so I'll just get down to it. We have agreed, albeit not too clearly, that the ban will only be lifted when the 'saving' is done. Shyru does have quite a bit going for her, since she hasn't caused any destruction on purpose since she had met and accepted Tom's terms. I have already briefed you on the agreement between the two, so let's move on..."  
  
Skarmory was cut short by the lapras. "'cuse me, o herald, but doesn't that make it de facto that the ban is lifted?"  
  
Skarmory looked apologetic. "My humble apologies. I may have misled you. We have no idea that the 'saving' is really concluded or not; just that Shyru has not done any damage since that time..."  
  
The meeting went on, but Tom almost felt whisked away by the sheer speed that it proceeded at. The pace was astonishing; with the issue discussed, and the voting held on the spot at the end.  
  
Unanimous.  
  
Both Shyru and Tom breathed a sigh of relief, not even realising that they had been holding it. The dragon was all smiles when she shook hands with the council, or just a simple, thankful nod in some cases. She was called upon to speak, but declined, claiming, "no words can express how I feel now". With one last, heart-felt "thank you", the three flew from the island, with a light heart. Shyru however, veered off from their course, zooming towards Blackthorn, for a look at the home that she had left... for far too long.  
  
Tom and skarmory chatted on the way back to Shalla, knowing full well that that session may be the last that they would have together for quite some time.  
  
"So, what's this about the herald?"  
  
The great bird hesitated, and answered. "A herald is just a messenger. In this case, they mean herald of the gods, or just the person that speaks for the council of the gods, consisting of the ten legendaries. I was... chosen by them to be this generation's herald; the last one was a pidgeot. The herald welds an awful amount of power, and cracks the whip over the pokemon councils. Also, I do symbolise the gods, so I do happen to have some... extra abilities."  
  
Tom just stared, and silence reined, the veil of hush broken only by the regular flapping of wings. He opened his mouth to speak, but shut them again, not really knowing what to say, or how to put it. One word however, finally emerged from the awe-struck man.  
  
"How."  
  
"I have no idea actually; I guess they just choose a species at random, and decide which one fits their criteria, whatever *that* is, the most."  
  
Peace clung to the pair for the rest of the journey.  
  
***  
  
"Tom!" The pokemon and Shalla cried in unison, as skarmory and his passenger landed. The pokemon fawned over their ex-companion, although charizard remained respectfully aloof. Shalla just locked Tom in an embrace, reluctantly drawing away only after a few minutes.  
  
"Congratulations." Tom spoke to skarmory, and flashed a crooked, somewhat resigned grin. Skarmory responded similarly, and they closed, sharing one last moment together, before he took off, breaking the bittersweet atmosphere.  
  
"Bye!" As skarmory's shadow faded in the afternoon sun, Tom added softly, to himself, "I hope we meet again, my friend." He turned away, holding back the tears of farewell, for this time, Tom knew that the next time their paths crossed would not be anytime too soon.  
  
"Lets go Shalla."  
  
"Where?"  
  
"Off to the next gym... the steel one, I think."  
  
"Yes, but that wasn't what I was talking about."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Didn't you want to get more pokemon?"  
  
"Well, I'll just catch more on the way. The bug-catching park is just too... crowded."  
  
Shalla blinked in astonishment, but just went along with his decision, offering a smile of encouragement. They set off, with the pokemon trailing behind, heading back to the road to the championships. A subtle change however, marked their journey; Tom and Shalla held hands, assuming a stroll, in direct contrast to the manner in which they ran from one gym to the next in "the good old days". Ever so often, the couple would join in laughter, their mirth serving only to strengthen their bonds.  
  
Levitating along somewhere behind, alakazam observed the change and chortled gently, whispering to himself, "Absence makes the heart grown fonder." Indeed, even the short separation had resulted in them developing a better relationship.  
  
They walked on through the forest, relaxed... but not for long.  
  
Night had fallen, and the dense undergrowth proved too dark for the naked eye to penetrate. Tom had returned all his pokemon, who were exhausted and aching for a rest. The two humans pushed their way through the forest, hacking away at those that were too thick.  
  
And the attack came.  
  
The strike came with such swiftness, that even Tom, with a internal split-second warning of evil intent was caught off guard, tumbling to the ground from the hammer blow. Rolling, Tom made use of his momentum to spring to his feet, only to be knocked down once again.  
  
Tom tried to get up, but his attempt was terminated by another lightning attack, which collapsed his legs, landing his bum unceremoniously on the earth, coated with a layer of rotting vegetation. Frustrated, Tom looked out for Shalla, who was in a proper fighting stance, legs spread forward and back; weight balanced and hands at the ready.  
  
A blur of movement was all Shalla observed, before she, too was hit, and knees buckling, she wound up on the ground. The dark shape immediately pounced on her, snarling and viciously tearing at her clothes, going for the neck.  
  
Tom rose, but got no further before getting charged by another sleek shadow. This one sought to inflict damage with razor sharp claws instead of fangs. The unidentified form struck again and again, drawing blood. Bleeding from a dozen cuts, Tom spotted a horrifying sight. From the deep gashes, blood could be seen, and the slashes were getting bigger. Somehow, frost lined the wound, and Tom could barely refrain from screaming. The agony was unbearable, and freezing tendrils seemed to coarse through his vein from the swellings, clutching around his heart and lungs, making it pure torture even to attempt a breath.  
  
Shalla wasn't faring much better. Her rough canvas cloak had become a blazing blanket, springing into flames when her assailant had sunk its teeth into her shoulder. She had anticipated the attack, but had little options available, and thus just took the bite bravely, twisting so that her neck was not exposed to the fatal kiss.  
  
That notion however, backfired.  
  
Shalla was writhing on the ground, clutching her chest in undisguised anguish. Molten lava seemed to pour through her capillaries, flowing through rapidly while sending pulses of intense heat through her body. The waves of pain overwhelmed her, and Shalla fainted, not in any condition to fight on.  
  
Tom watched Shalla crumple from the corner of his eye; but he had bigger problems. The creature attacking Shalla snorted and sniffed her, then slinked over to Tom, and the two shapes circled him, as a predator does a prey.  
  
Tom could not restrain a shiver; both seemed to blend right in with the night, leaving but faded imaged in their wake, leaving the onlooker to wonder if he had seen them at all. Yet Tom knew they were there; they appeared as gaping holes in his mind's eye, gaps where psychic energy could not penetrate. They were dark type beyond a doubt, and from what happened to himself and Shalla, Tom had little problems figuring out their species. He reached for his pokeballs, but stopped short at a blood-curling snarl.  
  
A third dark type approached, oozing confidence with each step.  
  
It was glowing faintly, and Tom could discern its features. He gasped disbelief. It was familiar, yet unlike anything he had ever seen.  
  
Lavender the shade of the deepest night; golden rings pulsating in an regular beat; a red bead on its forehead; a forked tail.  
  
It was a gruesome hybrid of an espeon and umbreon, at once ghastly and magnificent. its sculpted muscles throbbed with life, eyes with no iris like a black hole, staring right at Tom. It was twice as large as the average eevee, perhaps massing more than Tom himself did. It was a work of art like no other, an incredible being that radiated utter control and power.  
  
Tom growled, an animal sound that reflected his anger. He hurled a wad of psychic energy at the creature -- for Tom could find no better word to describe it -- giving it his all.  
  
The creature blinked once, and the irregular mass fizzled into nothing, inches from its face. Tom cursed, and the creature strolled forward, unhurried.  
  
*Damn it.* Tom charged, only to be lifted into the air, immobilised. It was a position that Tom himself had forced upon charizard only a few weeks ago. He now knew why charizard surrendered.  
  
The helplessness of the situation was overwhelming, and his inability even to shout for help infuriated Tom. *If only one of my pokemon was out... Wait a minute. One IS out.* He gathered his strength, concentrating on just one word. *SHYRU!*  
  
And waited.  
  
Tom was not disappointed. Shyru landed nearby a minute later, which had felt like eons to Tom, who was still suspended in the air, with the creature calmly studying him. The houndoom and sneasel flanked what Tom took to be their leader, eyes darting this way and that for any sign of danger.  
  
Upon the "thump" of Shyru's landing, both "guards" jerked their heads at the sudden intrusion, and glowered at the terranite. The creature whispered something, and the duo faded into the darkness.  
  
The battle commenced, two versus one, with the strongest still on the bench. 


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18  
  
Shyru grimaced; the battle was even tougher than the one with Councillor Raikor.  
  
The two opponents were perfectly camouflaged against the inky darkness of the night, and they worked in flawless collaboration, acting as if with one mind; their every movement carried out with cool, calculated precision, and in sync with each other.  
  
In addition to the difficulty in fighting two "invisible" enemies, she was torn between two choices. The first was the ever-present temptation to become a dark type so as to be able to see in the dark, and the other was to change her type according to each attack.  
  
Originally, this would not have been a problem, but sneasel had a variation of slash that seemed to inject pure cold energy into her very being. And it was pressing this advantage, relying on the houndoom to distract Shyru.  
  
The lightning blows were taking their toll on the dragon, who was now reeling from the clashes and the chill that permeated her core.  
  
Shyru, weakened beyond anything she had ever dreamed would be possible, stumbled, and was caught by another freezing slash. Instead of leaping up again...  
  
She stayed down.  
  
Tom felt a fist clench around his heart, and opened his mouth in a silent scream, as the psychic torture continued.  
  
***  
  
The pokemon's type was not hard to guess, and Tom knew its only weakness would be covered well by the houndoom.  
  
The agony had been going on for the entire night, one that felt like a never-ending eternity to Tom. He had not yet succumbed to the swift mental probes and jabs that the creature was giving. Whatever the creature's strategy, it was eroding Tom's defences, and he knew that he would yield very soon.  
  
And he did.  
  
Tom yelled out, as the final thrust opened a vast mental gateway to his memories. The creature viewed the flood calmly, stopping every once in a while for a closer look.  
  
For Tom, it was nothing short of reliving his life -- as a spectator, and at an accelerated pace. He experienced his first few unstable steps again, and saw his first crush. He was whisked through the passage at ever increasing speeds... until everything slowed down to "normal".  
  
The creature was examining what Tom remembered of the episode when he first opened up his well of psychic powers, when he pioneered an expedition into the mountains in his childhood, exploring the terrain with no more than a meagre store of food and a faint sense of direction. The creature flipped through the happenings like one would the pages of a well-illustrated book.  
  
Finally, the creature stopped, and Tom was almost literally frozen in time.  
  
Shadow, and his memories.  
  
In an unguarded moment, Tom sensed a whiff of emotion from the creature.  
  
Pain? Regret? Aloneness? Tom had no idea. The cerebral barrier went up almost as suddenly as it came down. The creature dropped Tom like a sack of potatoes, and he drifted off into a deep sleep, induced probably by *it*. His last sight was that of the creature howling, a splendid sight with the moon as the background.  
  
The next morning, Tom found himself next to Shalla, who cradled his head, gently running a hand over his forehead.  
  
"Hiya sleepy head."  
  
"Wha..."  
  
"Easy. I found these guys lying next to us." Shalla indicated a few motionless figures.  
  
Tom's eyes trailed the path to them... and he screeched, backing away.  
  
"What's the matter?" Tom paled, and scrutinised Shalla for a flicker of fear or even recognition of the trio. He found none. And then, it dawned on him.  
  
"Last night. Do you remember anything about it?"  
  
Shalla frowned at the question, and hesitated. Her mood was not hard to sense. *Have you gone mad?*  
  
"Please. Just answer the question. I'll explain if there is a need to." *Hopefully not...* He added mentally.  
  
"Well, I just remember us walking along, chatting. Then its all hazy. I guess I just somehow fell asleep."  
  
"I see." Tom brooded over this a while, and then looked closely at Shalla's shoulder.  
  
Her clothes were torn, but aside from the fabric, nothing was damaged. No blood, no large gashes. It was as if everything that happened was... *nothing*. Tom glanced at the creature, and felt a tug from the depths of his brain. *This way.* It murmured.  
  
Tom strolled over to the creature. It was different, and in daylight, looked peaceful and even somewhat like a puppy. He shook his head at the thought, and jerked back as the creature opened one eye, then the other.  
  
The voice started again, a haunting whisper resonating within him. *Nagaeon*  
  
The creature smiled mysteriously, and spoke. "My name you know." Tom gave an exasperated sigh. *First shadow, then nagaeon. There is no end to the number of probes that I can't detect.*  
  
"Huma... Tom. Berate not yourself over matters that you control not."  
  
*Do you always speak like that?*  
  
"Dislike this accent do you?"  
  
*No...* Tom replied quickly, as flashes of last night relived themselves in his mind.  
  
"Good." Nagaeon turned to his companions, and nudged them awake. They sprang to their feet and stretched, apparently unconcerned about Tom's presence. "Informed them about my decision I have. Join you we will."  
  
*WHAT?!*  
  
"Heard me you have."  
  
Tom mulled over this. It was a terrific opportunity, with three new pokemon joining him. But he knew nothing of their agenda, and there appeared to be no way to control them.  
  
"Wiped their memories I have. Healed they are. You." Nagaeon indicated Tom, "Are the only one to remember last night."  
  
*Why?* It was a loaded question, carrying with it pent-up emotions.  
  
"Shadow."  
  
*I don't...*  
  
"Have to you do not." Nagaeon replied sharply. "But understand you do."  
  
Tom searched shadow's memories, and gasped, falling back in shock. Memories of nagaeon, prancing with delight around shadow; of them locked in a friendly match; of them fighting off a flock of aerodactyl...  
  
Memories of them being separated. Tom reviewed the horror of the happening.  
  
Shadow, not yet split into two, chasing nagaeon playfully. He was not as strong back then as he was now; and neither was nagaeon. In any case, another pokemon entered the scene -- a heracross, well trained and commanded by an experienced battler.  
  
The battle was more like a massacre, albeit on a lesser scale. A thrust of megahorn put shadow out of commission, and another blow threw nagaeon over the mountain -- literally. The trainer hissed in vexation, and threw a pokeball, and a "ping" resounded in the grass field seconds later.  
  
Lisa's ancestor.  
  
Tom drifted back to the present, observe ring with dismay, that nagaeon had somehow tapped into him and watched it along with him. There were tears in his eyes, which he angrily squeezed away.  
  
They huddled together for a long time, Shalla not daring to interrupt -- for she did not understand. Tom did not let it last however; he retrieved his belt with a gesture, and withdrew a pokeball, releasing shadow.  
  
There was an awkward pause, as the gengar-like pokemon gaped at his long-lost friend. Then both of them broke down and hugged each other as best as they could, and left in a brief flash. Tom managed a tired grin before wrapping his own arms around Shalla, gazing contently at her. *This is one secret that I may have to keep from you.*  
  
The houndoom and sneasel went back to sleep, strangely trusting of the very person they had strove to kill just the night before. Tom just warmed up and jogged in the general direction of the next gym.  
  
Houndoom and sneasel followed at a leisurely pace, sprinting only when they fell back too much.  
  
***  
  
"Beep!" Tom halted, annoyed.  
  
He had found the gym without much trouble, and was strolling through what he took to be a well-pruned garden. He was about to head towards the pokecentre when the pokegear phone rang.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Hi Tom! This is Angus."  
  
"Oh. Nice to hear from you again."  
  
"Uh. There is a new rule..."  
  
"Why is it every time something important comes up I'm never informed directly?"  
  
Silence patched through over the line, and Tom swore he could almost see the reddening of Angus's cheeks. "Well... It appears the announcer just didn't manage to log your number so..."  
  
"Couldn't you just give it to him?"  
  
"Uh I for..."  
  
"Never mind. What's the new rule?"  
  
"As you undoubtedly know, its possible to transfer your pokemon rather conveniently with your pokedex..."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
Stunned hush, followed shortly by an irritated howl. "Do you EVER check your pokegear news?"  
  
"I haven't touched the darn thing in over a month."  
  
"At least check it for global announcements..." Tom imagined his friend scowling over the phone, and chuckled. "Anyway recently, this process has been upgraded to the point where the pokemon limit has become moot. So the council just abolished the entire rule, and reinforced others. So, you can now carry as many pokemon with you as you want, but the trainer boxes are now changed so that you have to deposit the eight pokemon that you plan on using right from the start, so you can't change your reserve for a boxed pokemon in the middle of a match."  
  
"Wow." Tom beamed. The coincidence was remarkable. He was just wondering about which pokemon to send back.  
  
"Thanks for the news! See ya..."  
  
"WAIT!"  
  
Tom stopped short of turning off the phone, and returned back to the conversation.  
  
"Ya?"  
  
A moan. "Did you catch any new pokemon?"  
  
"Yes, quite a few. Including three more dark types, among them a new species..."  
  
"Some people get ALL the luck. But I don't mind. Personally I managed to get a trump card. I'll not use it unless I have to. And don't bother asking since I will not reveal it yet."  
  
"Hey!"  
  
"Sorry buddy, but no go."  
  
A click, and only the "tooot... tooot..." emerged from the cell phone. Tom went into the pokecentre for a rest before challenging the gym leader, taking the time to prepare himself for what may be -- according to Shalla -- his toughest battle yet.  
  
"Hi!"  
  
Tom was broken out of his reverie, as Nurse Joy called out. "Uh, I want to get my pokemon healed."  
  
"Sure, just put them right here, and I'll take care of them."  
  
Tom handed the lady his belt, and tried to start a conversation.  
  
"So do you have any tips for the gym leader?"  
  
Joy giggled, and reached out, cupping Tom's chin. "I'm not allowed to give you any hints, but this I can tell you. Do not use the most obvious choice."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"You'll see."  
  
With that, Joy passed Tom his belt, and he rejoined his travelling companion.  
  
"What did she say?" Shalla spoke as Tom slumped onto the chair.  
  
"Something about not using the most obvious choice. Do you have anything to add?"  
  
She frowned, and looked thoughtful for a long while -- a nerve wrecking minute for Tom. "Nope. I only know that the gym leader uses steel types, and used to be a student of Mr Muromasa. He was Muromasa's ace student, but after some experience or another, really started improving and soon overtook his teacher. He set up a school of his own, affiliated with his mother school, which churned out many top trainers. He specialises in training scizors, and has one called blade, which is the strongest pokemon he has. I don't know anything else. Not even his name. When there are meetings, he always turns up mysteriously in a cape."  
  
Tom stared at the ex-gym leader in dismay.  
  
"But I do know that he has purple hair though." She provided lamely.  
  
The trainer sighed.  
  
***  
  
Tom looked on in horror as Nurse Joy led him to the "garden". Sprinklers gushed out torrents of water, and there were countless numbers of them. It was almost suicide to send any sort of pokemon weak to water into battle here.  
  
Then the gym leader appeared.  
  
He was a man in his twenties, strikingly handsome and cut a dashing figure with unruly hair and a piercing gaze. The cape whirled as he strode over to Tom... and marched right past him. The gym leader smiled warmly at Shalla, and clasped her hand, leaning down and kissing it before rising. All this time, his eyes were on Shalla, who was by now, blushing furiously, squirming a little under his look.  
  
Tom cleared his throat and coughed in his fist, louder than he intended to, surprising even himself.  
  
The gym leader jerked back, breaking his hold on Shalla, and appraised Tom with narrowed eyes. Finally he spoke. "Sorry." His tone suggested otherwise, but the young man plunged forth. "I didn't see you."  
  
Tom rolled his eyes at the obvious lie, but held out his hand, trying to be civil. "Hello. I'm here to challenge you..."  
  
The other didn't take his hand, and after a few awkward moments, retracted it. The gym leader smirked at Tom, unnoticed by Shalla, and bowed slightly in her direction. "Another time perhaps; it seems I have some official matters to handle." He wave one hand, palm facing up, towards a few delicately carved marble chairs, and she inclined her head, offering Tom an encouraging grin before starting towards the seats.  
  
Tom, feeling a bit frustrated, ran up to her and gave her a peck, leaving with a whispered "Cheer for me." and a wink. He returned to find the gym leader glaring daggers at him.  
  
"I'm Tom."  
  
"You may call me Shingo." His manner brought to mind the image of a haughty warlord. Tom took an immediate dislike to him. "Six on six, three sent out first, then when only one side is left standing, the rest are sent out. No time limit... the arena is *this*."  
  
Tom seethed as he fixed his eyes on the field, noting the gross advantage the gym leader obtained when fire types, a scizor's only weakness were weakened in this arena.  
  
*All right Tom, concentrate. Who can you use? Charizard, being able to fly, is definitely in, and so is Shyru. The last slot... electabuzz will do nicely.*  
  
Shingo and Tom took their positions with the calm of seasoned trainers, but there existed no doubt in Shalla's mind that both had to be nervous.  
  
All six balls were tossed simultaneously, and Tom could only groan in despair.  
  
Shyru, charizard, electabuzz... and three skarmories. *And he hasn't sent out a single scizor yet. The worst thing is, the water conducting advantage is nonexistent. Never mind. I'll just make the best of a lousy situation.*  
  
Shingo stepped back, content merely with *watching* the battle. Tom was not as confident. Not only were his pokemon unfamiliar with the battleground, their cooperation was far from perfect.  
  
All the flying types took off once the bell went, soaring high. Shyru zoomed ahead and imposed her bulk before them, clutched the pair ahead, gripping one in each hand. Charizard arrived a second later, and seized the last one. They rushed down with their quarry, letting go twenty metres up.  
  
It spoke well for Shingo when there were no panicked cries or shrieks of anger. The trio of birds flapped their great wings hard, screeching to a halt still some way from the ground. They became wet, but Tom knew, Shingo thought, for all of a second, that they had foiled the seismic toss.  
  
Yet that wasn't the aim.  
  
Electabuzz let lose with a howl and a devilish grin, flooding the entire arena with mega volts of electricity. It may have looked like overkill; attacking a city to capture a rattata, but it most definitely was not. Their bodies shuddered and they screamed in fury, but they struggled to stay afloat, and succeeded, coming off none too worse, except for the occasional uncontrollable twitches that appeared. *A partial paralysis; good.*  
  
Oddly enough, Shingo was chuckling at the proceedings. "You know what to do!" His clear voice rang out. The skarmories acted.  
  
With a precision that would put the elite air force to shame, they flew in a triangular formation, blazing up and hovering far above Tom's pokemon, their metal feathers glittering in the light. With a war cry, all dove downwards in a spiral, configuration intact, gaining momentum and speed.  
  
Yet that was not the main intent.  
  
Tom could only stand, limp with his jaw wide open, when the whirlwind formed, sucking up the water like a vacuum. *Oh freak...* "CHARIZARD! GET OUT OF THE WAY!"  
  
Both dragons stood their ground in mid air, horrified but still determined. The twister headed towards them; more specifically the fire dragon, while the skarmories emerged from the vertical column of water, panting and drenched.  
  
Shyru rushed away at the last possible second, while charizard flapped her wings and fired three attacks in quick succession. Then, the water-flying attack was upon her, and charizard roared. The tornado faded into nothing moments later, and what was just an orange blur solidified into the unconscious form of a dragon. The lifeless dead weight started to drop, and was intercepted by a blood-red beam.  
  
Tom fumed silently, but could do nothing. His only consolation was that the attack, if anything, at least made the skarmories a little more tired.  
  
That is, until he saw what became of the three monstrous globes of flame that charizard had launched prior to her downfall. They each tracked down one steel type, and locked on target, crackling with heat energy.  
  
The air above the attacks' pathway shimmered, and Tom could almost feel the superheated air rising. Each ball spewed out a trail of glowing sparks, and would have seemed magnificent, were it not for the touch of death they seemed to promise.  
  
The three birds, still somewhat weary from the exertion, were in no shape to dodge. *All* found their mark.  
  
Tom shielded his eyes in reflex when the influx of light occurred. Everything exploded in sudden brilliance, and Tom could sense the glare even without seeing it. When the dark patches clouding his eyesight finally diminished, he felt a tug on his belt. An automatic device activated, and Shyru was returned, knocked out.  
  
The trainer frowned, and tried to rehearse the events that happened. *Okay, so there was those skarmories, trying to dodge, and all the fireballs hit. Possibly... I get it. The explosion was so strong that Shyru was caught in the blast.* He confirmed the hypothesis with a look at the trees enclosing them. Most of the tree crowns were charred to a crisp, some still smouldering and giving off smoke. Tom shouted, confidence reigning supreme in his heart.  
  
"You're lucky my other dragon also had to be returned. Come on, send out your next three *victims*."  
  
He was greeted with a chortle and just two words. "Look again."  
  
All three skarmories glided in the sky, obviously rather toasty, with streaks of carbon on their bodies and a bad burn, as well as wings drooping with fatigue, but otherwise still in fighting condition.  
  
Tom let loose with a string of obscenities his parents would have fainted clean away at. The bubbly optimism in him spoke. *At least electabuzz is still fine.* Then electabuzz started shimmering.  
  
*Wait a minute. Now's not the time to use flash... or any electric attacks for that matter. The water will just bounce it straight back at him...*  
  
The now-familiar voice retorted. "Then maybe it *isn't* flash." Shingo, at the other end, looked worried, wearing a grimace and clenching his teeth.  
  
The radiance increased. 


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19  
  
All waited with bated breath for the process to end. Shingo himself and his pokemon also patiently observed the change; few trainers were dishonourable enough to strike in the middle of an evolution -- in fact such an act was instant grounds for disqualification in championship matches.  
  
Electabuzz's size grew slightly, and his limbs bulged out, gaining bulk swiftly. His stripes rippled, and multiplied, forming a chaotic mix of dark lines, thinner than before, yet far more numerous. Electricity started to flow in waves around his body, and some leapt from point to point, arcing as they travelled as if in orbit.  
  
Gradually, the crackling surge of power melded in and merged with electabuzz himself, and the glow diminished.  
  
Details could soon be made out, and Tom gasped at the results. The pokemon's basic form had not changed, but it was as if some insane scientist had added layer upon layer of muscles, strengthening him into a frightening fighting machine. His head was lowered, but a fearsome scowl could be seen etched into it.  
  
He raised his head, revealing a feral grin, and said one word, "Elemanta". His new voice was a deep bass, echoing signs of newfound maturity as well as pure, raw dominance. Without consulting his pokedex, Tom could tell the brand new type-match of the evolution. However, he nevertheless whipped it out, and input the name, reading any additional descriptions the automatic scanner may provide.  
  
Pokedex display:  
Name: Elemanta  
Gender: Male  
Evolution: Elekid, Electabuzz, Elemanta  
Type: Electric/Fighting  
Resistance: Electric, Bug, Rock, Dark, Steel  
Immunities: -  
Weaknesses: Ground, Psychic  
Further Information: This pokemon has a interesting match of types, enabling it to combine fighting moves with huge electrical discharges. Such a combination is particularly deadly, proves to be very effective in close range combat. For longer ranges, it is estimated that this evolution can pump out up to a hundred times the voltage of its pre-evolution, electabuzz. A even more formidable opponent than electabuzz, elemanta is not to be taken lightly.  
  
Shingo either had extremely acute hearing or was consulting a pokedex of his own. In any case, a shiver crept up his spine, and the barely perceived shudder was nonetheless captured and noted by Tom. Tom's eyes sparkled, and he gave his first command of the battle.  
  
"Thunder."  
  
It was meant to be more of a test than anything else, but the results far exceeded Tom's expectations.  
  
Out of the clear sky, somehow an unbelievably thick bolt of lightning materialised and lanced straight down, spearing one of the skarmory and dazzling all who saw the display. It resembled something, but Tom was not sure what, but it came to him moments later, from the tiny voice at the back of his mind.  
  
*It is as thick as a decent-sized tree trunk and forking out after striking the target gives it the appearance of the roots.*  
  
To which, Tom muttered, "Oh boy."  
  
Then elemanta raised his arms, and grinned widely. Everyone looked up, as the sky darkened. The twin birds above panicked, but clung to their determination and training, diving steeply. There was no hope of staying airborne in the rain, and with a tempest brewing.  
  
The duo made a bee-line towards elemanta, slicing through the torrent of rain. Elemanta allowed his tight smile to melt into a smirk, and lowered his arms, eyes glowing brighter than any star would.  
  
The arena was thrown into turmoil.  
  
Electrical discharge was overwhelming, as what seemed like sheets of energy and blinding current blazed through the air, leaving a trail of ionised particles and a faint scent of ozone. The effect was localised and did not last very long; barely more than thirty seconds, but it was far superior to any fireworks display, and infinitely more dangerous as well.  
  
The hurricane-like force of the storm stopped, and the sky cleared, unveiling the beginning of a beautiful sunset... and two unconscious metal birds. Shingo locked his jaw and hardened his resolve, glaring at the opponent that seemed bent on stretching him to his limits. He allowed a confident look to cross his face as his fingers brushed the pokeball containing his prized pokemon. "You're up next. GO!"  
  
The three materialized in perfect array, and without ado spread out, ready for anything. Tom doubted however, if they could see anything through the hail of water droplets. He pulsed a short message to elemanta. *Give it your all in your strongest electric attack, and then I'll send out the rest to help.*  
  
Elemanta turned back with a grim nod; he understood. Once the others were released in the field, he would not have a chance to fire electric attacks of any kind without endangering his own side as well. He readied himself, and gathered his energy.  
  
The sprinklers abruptly lessened, and now the field was more visible; a portion of water-spewing pipes were shut off or their nozzles turned down. All this dropped the curtain and unveiled elemanta -- eyes closed in concentration and limbs trembling with suppressed power. Mouthing a silent "Bye-bye" to the three scizors, he released the electricity to do their work.  
  
All hell broke lose, as the attack started. The sprinklers shorted out, the power main overloaded, and fires started in places. Two scizors, although prepared for the attack, were thrown back, grimacing and gesturing wildly with their claws.  
  
Elemanta sighed and plopped onto the burnt grass, laying down for a rest.  
  
*Do you want to come back?*  
  
"I'll be alright. Just send out the rest to help me out."  
  
And three dark types appeared in the arena, cautiously studying their adversary. Then Tom saw the centre scyther evolution. It was at least 50% larger than the other two, and was completely unfazed by the previous attack. It calmly regarded the four pokemon on Tom's side, examining each in turn, nodding sagely as if noting each of their weak points. As it laid eyes on nagaeon however, it flinched, and averted its gaze, recovering fast enough that Tom doubted if untrained eyes would have seen the slip.  
  
Shingo's reaction however was more violent. He shook his fist at the sight of the dark psychic pokemon, losing all pretence at control and discipline, and slamming his fist down on the concrete of the trainer box. There was a sharp cracking sound, and Tom harboured no qualms that even the hard material was dented.  
  
He pointed an outstretched hand and a quivering finger at Tom, and shouted, "What do you think you are doing with *THAT*!"  
  
Tom began a retort, but was cut short by the agitated gym leader. "*That* has been going around the forest searching travellers' memories, and then wiping all traces of their work afterwards. The only reason *I* remember the experience is because Blade managed to fend the three of them off long enough for us to escape, and that just barely too. That *thing* is dangerous, and I just hope you can control it enough for my gym and the surrounding region to be intact after this match."  
  
Tom shrugged, and was surprised inside; the pieces finally clicked; now he knew why nagaeon was in the forest, and why he felt the way he did when he "saw" shadow for the first time in Tom's memories.  
  
With that, the real *battle* was joined.  
  
Shingo's command was the first to ring out. "Finish the sneasel and houndoom first."  
  
The two flanking scizors complied, rushing forward to engage the targets. Blade however, crossed its claws in a "X", and turned them sideways, such that it seemed it had three heads, with all six eyes glared down at the opponents -- and it started to meditate. Elemanta did not bother with poses, and just laid down for a rest, trusting his team mates to keep the opponents off his back.  
  
Nagaeon however, just stood there, not unlike a statue, frozen in time. Then what he was doing became blatantly apparent. Houndoom and sneasel, actively involved in the heat of the battle, were both shimmering, surrounded by an aura-like layer of protective shielding that proved very effective, both in deflecting the precise slashes and absorbing beam attacks.  
  
The pair were faring extremely well against the two scizors, taking little to no damage at all. Elemanta was peacefully resting, getting a well-deserved break from the intense heat of battle. Yet all that changed, in an instant.  
  
Sneasel causally blocked a cruel down-swipe from his opponent, and dove in for a chilling neck slash, leaving a trail of frost. Houndoom was engulfed in flames, which shifted with him, permanently encasing in a protective coat of heat. Both scizors then concentrated their strikes on the ice type, brutally lashing out with wild abandon. At last, they backed off, a cold gleam in their eyes. As one, they struck, four metal hammers crashing down on sneasel.  
  
The psychic membrane shattered.  
  
Sneasel screeched, an unpleasant sound having more far-reaching effects than Tom would have thought possible. A flock of spearows far off in the forest flew off, evidently startled by the bloodcurling shiek. *It must have been broadcast in the range above human limits; no sound could have reached miles through the forest.* Tom grimaced; the battle was not going well.  
  
The feline pokemon landed on the grass, shuddering from now painfully obvious wounds. Two large "X"s were etched into his side, with dark crimson blood dripping out.  
  
Tom fought the wave of nausea that threatened to overcome him, and managed to choke out an encouragement. "Come on! You can do it."  
  
Which was when Blade, apparently satisfied with its meditation, acted.  
  
Raising both claws, the sleek creature conjured what seemed like two large oranges. *No hyper beam can be THAT big... can it?* The orbs grew larger, and shimmered, elongating to swallow up the entire arm.  
  
Tom just stared on in unrepressed horror, as the attack reached out, and like some giant's arms, overwhelmed houndoom. The blinding flash that followed did little to prepare Tom for the sight that greeted him when his eyesight returned.  
  
Destruction.  
  
The grass in the arena was blown away, leaving a trough-like depression. Everything in the path of the attack, were... gone. Trees were uprooted and flung away like toothpicks, and all that remained of the forest in that section was a few measly patches of grass that somehow survived the annihilation.  
  
Houndoom and sneasel... were nowhere to be seen.  
  
Seconds later, the pokeballs activated, and ranged out, the scarlet beam lancing out to strike the unmoving forms of the two dark types. All this, Tom observed in his mind's eye, wincing as the process reminded him of a spear striking through.  
  
Elemanta awoke, blinking in confusion at the field. *Another time. Try your best.* He nodded, and spoke to nagaeon. "The large one's all yours. Good luck." Somehow, the last two words worried Tom far more than the first sentence.  
  
His fears were justified.  
  
The striped electric type leaped up high, glaring at the two scizors, standing back-to-back, ready for action. They froze, shivering as if to break some invisible lock. Elemanta smiled ruefully, and charged. Tom's eyes snapped to nagaeon, and understood. *He's doing a disable attack. A VERY powerful one, if I'm not mistaken.*  
  
Almost casually, the fighting pokemon went up to the duo, and smashed them both together. The cross chop was not very impressive-looking; but the thunderous "clang" of the two steel bugs striking each other provided testimony to its power.  
  
Then, he focused, and released the fury within.  
  
Once again, the three humans present were treated to a display that left indigo patches in their eyes.  
  
The electricity was not a single, devastating bolt, but a constant shocking flow that arced and writhed as it manifested in other forms, namely heat -- and sound energy. The pair were crying out, with small flames bursting into painful existence everywhere.  
  
All three collapsed, the scizors from the absurdly powerful combination of attacks, and elemanta from using it.  
  
Nagaeon and Blade faced one another, as the limp outlines were withdrawn in their energised form. Both waited for the other to make the first move, and the air seemed to be charged with static. *Future sight.*  
  
Moments later, a howling sound was heard, and Blade was chucked to the dirt, a surprised expression evident. Effortlessly vaulting up, the ninja-like pokemon disappeared, and reappeared with its back facing nagaeon, in the same spot. Somehow, it had hit, and returned, all without Tom noticing any other movements.  
  
Uneasy, Tom turned to his pokemon, taken aback by the upturned corners of his mouth. Ahead, a screen exploded into smithereens -- what was left of a barrier.  
  
Scizor was ridiculously fast... nagaeon was still swifter -- or so it seemed.  
  
***  
  
Half an hour later, the battle was still on going. The battlers matched each other; swipe for counter swipe, move for move... and neither seemed to tire.  
  
On the other hand, both trainers were gritting their teeth, frustrated at the length of the clash; battles were almost as draining for the trainer as for the pokemon. Shingo paced back and forth in his trainer box, while Tom tried to concentrate on the scenery -- or what was left of it, while keeping an eye on the battle just in case.  
  
Something had to give. Something.  
  
And that something turned out to be Blade.  
  
Nagaeon could probably hold the scizor still with relative ease, but the problem was getting a solid fix on its location; which was a real headache.  
  
Blade was always in motion, executing the lightning swipes with precision and an eerie silence that unnerved both Tom and Shalla. Nagaeon was able to constantly create barriers around himself, but without offence, this could probably go on forever.  
  
It had attacked and approached with a different pattern each time; but likely exhausting all the possibilities, Blade had tried one line of attack once too many. Nagaeon seized the opportunity at once.  
  
The steel pokemon snapped to a halt, and trembled, straining. Nagaeon broke out in sweat. *Oh my god. That thing is almost breaking out.* Face contorted with the immense effort, Blade struggled with a ferocity Tom could scarcely believe. Shingo hammered the concrete box, muttering an oath, as Blade's almost comical antics produced absolutely no results.  
  
The attack started out as tiny, barely perceptible slivers of ruby gathering, forming like an armour surrounding Blade. "What the-" Tom almost choke on air, as the notion made itself known. *Is that scizor somehow creating some sort of protection for itself?* The voice in his head answered. "Maelstrom Fire. The user creates a giant vortex of a specified element, which damages the enemy badly as well as traps it."  
  
As if on cue, the temperature elevated, and Blade, now in the rapidly expanding swirling mass of energy, squirmed from the fiery of the incredible attack.  
  
Then the vortex activated, and nagaeon laid down, releasing the scizor to its fate, and trying to gather enough concentration for a recover.  
  
The tempest raged, amazingly localised for such a powerful move. Sparks were flying out, and the only thing that saved the grass from catching on fire was that the heat was so intense that the plants either withered and flared into oblivion or flickered with a small flame for an instant before dying out -- nothing was left to burn.  
  
One entire minute later, the maelstrom faded away. The silhouette of Blade had stopped moving, and now it dropped onto the dirt, burnt to a crisp but somehow still alive, albeit unconscious.  
  
As the trigger activated to draw the scizor back into its pokeball, the winner was clear.  
  
Shingo went over to Tom, and spoke.  
  
"Perhaps I was too hasty in my judgement... and too harsh as well. You are a brilliant trainer, no one should have any qualms about that. You get my badge, and a gift."  
  
Tom bowed; still a little stunned by the victory, and examined the two objects. One was a small piece of steel, plated with silver. It was moulded into the rough shape of a scizor, complete with crossed claws and a piercing gaze.  
  
The other was just a chunk of iron that seemed to pulsate with an inner glow.  
  
"Thank you. And this is?"  
  
"It may induce evolution in several pokemon. I've tried it with an eevee. The result is fantastic, and powerful, but woefully difficult to control; now it sometimes doesn't listen to my commands. Scientists suspect it will work on a rhydon, but it is not confirmed... Ah listen. Do you have a rhydon or eevee?"  
  
Tom blinked. "I guess so."  
  
"Which one?"  
  
"Both."  
  
Shingo frowned, and smiled. "Alright, I'll give you another one of the stone, if you would use it on your rhydon and let me see."  
  
"I've got to ask him first."  
  
"Be my guest."  
  
Tom traced a finger over the row of pokeballs searching for the correct marking, and gingerly pressed one, careful to face open ground.  
  
The shiny emerged, shouting. "Bring them on! Huh?" He saw Tom.  
  
"Ya?"  
  
"Would you like to have a shot at evolving?"  
  
"Uh... into?"  
  
"Rock or ground steel type." Tom replied, but hastily added, "I think."  
  
"I guess so."  
  
Shingo tossed Tom another stone at his nod, and backed off to watch. Tom pressed the radioactive piece of metal to rhydon's armour-like hide, and held it there.  
  
Unlike any other evolution Tom had witness before, this change did not happen all at once. Insteed, the patch in contact with the stone started to smoulder, and the shine spread slowly, covering the great rock type inch by agonising inch. Shingo, acting like an excited child, gazed on in fascination.  
  
The form grew slightly, and the horn receded into the skull. Small ridges sprouted on the head, like a crown. Strangely, a spiralling drill protruded out once again, and the rocky structures on its back grew slightly.  
  
Nothing else changed.  
  
The luminosity faded, and a booming roar penetrated the serene peace of dusk. 


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20  
  
A spiralling, rapidash-like horn, bony head plate, tiny thorns surrounding the head like a crown. The entire back was now covered in small barbs, and the tail, far more muscular than before, thumped the ground lightly; impatiently. All this, swathed in what seemed like molten metal, glossy and glowing with an inner fire.  
  
Tom frowned. *Something's fishy here. This is not a rock type. Ground steel mix is unlikely, since rhydon's main type is rock. Maybe...* Tom withdrew the pokedex, distaste written all over his face; not to vanish at the display.  
  
Pokedex display:  
Name: Unknown pokemon. (Please insert name)  
Gender: Male  
Type: ???/Steel  
Resistance: Unknown  
Immunities: Unknown  
Weaknesses: Unknown  
Further Information: NA  
  
Shingo was laughing hysterically, at Tom's reaction. "Oh come on, go update your 'dex. That is so outdated. Tom glowered at the gym leader, but nevertheless activated the update. Seconds later, the scroll of information went past the screen, revising the database. The updated files were shown in a list, but one section caught Tom's eye.  
  
New Type:  
War  
Resistance: Normal, Fire, Water, Electric, Grass, Ice, Ground, Flying, Rock  
Immunities: Fighting  
Weaknesses: Poison, Bug  
  
Tom gaped, and instantly regretted not upgrading the software sooner. He triggered the scan again, and waited for a moment.  
  
Pokedex display:  
Name: Unknown pokemon. (Please insert name)  
Gender: Male  
Type: War/Steel  
Resistance: Normal, Water, Electric, Grass, Ice, Flying, Psychic, Rock, Ghost, Dragon, Dark, Steel  
Immunities: Fighting, Poison  
Weaknesses: None  
Further Information: This pokemon is built for warfare. With zero resistances, this pokemon can easily overcome most pokemon in the wild, and may crush the average military-grade vehicle with ease. Its immense strength and superb senses give it an advantage in any terrain, and the only notable weakness is its stubborness and utter will in standing its ground in even the most dire situations. Even more aggressive than a tyranitar, it is not to be taken lightly.  
  
Tom thought a moment, and asked the silvery pokemon, for the bellow was nothing more than a challenge, and did not reveal its name. "What's your name?"  
  
"Rhythor."  
  
Shingo stared, then started to laugh. "Thor. The god of thunder. Also called the thunderer. It is rumoured that Raikou is in fact, Thor in disguise. A laughable idea at best... but the name fits. Anyway, I'm glad I shan't have to face that thing anytime soon. Good day."  
  
Shingo tossed Tom a jaunty salute, and with a half-bow, hurried off to the pokecentre.  
  
Tom went over to his new pokemon, pocketing the other stone.  
  
Rhythor was gushing, "Oh that was unexpected... I didn't think the stone would work... I mean I expected to get stronger, was this... OH..."  
  
Tom chuckled, and trotted over to Shalla. "What do you think?" He waved proudly at Rhythor. Shalla, in a mild tone, replied casually, "Not bad."  
  
She bit back a giggling fit at Tom's horrified expression, but the shaking could not be controlled. Tom rolled his eyes, and returned the excited war type, beckoning for Shalla to carry on with the journey.  
  
***  
  
The dawn broke, the horizon a brilliant flood of colours. Peaks loomed in the distance, visions of nature's beauty, set against a fantastic backdrop of radiant light. Shalla yawned, and with eyes still shut, rolled over, and sat up immediately. Tom's sleeping bag was vacant; it was already rolled up and settled right on top of the rucksack.  
  
Her sharp vision instantly noticed that Tom's pokeball belt was missing as well. She relaxed. *He's probably off somewhere training his pokemon.* Moments later, a loud thump, followed by a distinctive grunt easily identifiable as that of Shyru was heard, shattering the peace of the moment.  
  
*What the... What can take down that terranite?* Shalla scrambled for her bag, and hurriedly changed in her sleeping bag, wriggling furiously for a few minutes before emerging, full dressed but her hair a mess. Nevertheless, she grabbed a comb and took care of it, rushing towards the source of the sound earlier on.  
  
Minutes later, Shalla was greeted by a unbelievable scene.  
  
It was a clearing, and all of Tom's pokemon were out there, firing projectiles and energy beams and what not at... *something*. The particular target in question however, could not be seen, and indeed, seemed just to be a mass of attacks that exploded upon impact with some sort of shielding. The barrier seemed impregnable, and none of the ice beams, flamethrowers or the like penetrated it.  
  
Shalla just stood there, incredulous and completely mystified at the going-on. Here was a pokemon, if it was alive, that was impervious to anything that was thrown at it. *Impossible.* Tom jogged over, and chuckled at Shalla's reaction. "Cool huh!"  
  
"Who... What is that thing?"  
  
"Skarmory. The herald of the gods. He came over this morning and offered to help train my pokemon."  
  
"And that so-called training involved everyone attacking him?"  
  
"Not precisely, but close. You see, being the herald, Skarmory is a symbol of their power, and therefore is far more powerful than any pokemon, except the gods themselves. In any case, none of my pokemon can match up to that, so they are fighting twelve on one... and losing"  
  
"What?!"  
  
"See for yourself. Skarmory isn't even trying to retaliate, and the others are already wheezing hard."  
  
And it was true. The light screen and barrier combination move only prevented the attacks from penetrating, and nothing else. Shalla gaped, and a thought occurred to her. "Wait. You used to own *that*?"  
  
"Well, skarmory wasn't *quite* as powerful back then. Besides, I received him from a gym leader when he was still little."  
  
"Uh huh..." The reply came in a dry tone. Shalla was still staring at the battle. "Hey look! Skarmory's doing something..."  
  
Above, the barrage of energy beams had paused, providing a glimpse of the metallic bird, shimmering. Skarmory then grin maliciously, and let loose. The glimmer, in fact just huge unaccountable amounts of stored energy, surged out as one massive column...  
  
Yes, column. No other word could describe that great gush of power, thick as a tree trunk, blasting straight towards the ground. Instinctively, both Shalla and Tom shielded their eyes, turning away from the awful sudden glare.  
  
Seconds later, they opened their eyes, expecting a huge crater or something to that effect... They were however totally unprepared for the sight. A layer of frost covered everything in sight...  
  
*No. Not frost.* The little voice at the back of his head spoke again, startling Tom somewhat. Nevertheless, he cautiously went forward, and glanced at the landscape. "Tom?" Shalla's voice had a slight tremor in it, betraying her feelings.  
  
"Look. That's some kind of crystalline substance..." Tom looked at skarmory, wondering just how much his old pokemon had grown...  
  
***  
  
"Nurse, please heal these pokemon. Thank you."  
  
"No problem." Joy took the offered belt and retreated to a back room, presumably to start the treatment. Tom turned back and dragged himself over to Shalla.  
  
"Tell me about your parents."  
  
Tom frowned at the unexpected question, and studied her face. Seeing that she was serious, Tom sobered up and answered.  
  
"Well, my mother was a teacher of pokelogy, by all accounts very good at what she does. I guess I learnt much of what I know about pokemon from her. She used to bring me to see baby pokemon when I was young; probably what sparked my interest in training these magnificent creatures. My father... well he was a trainer in his time I suppose. Waaaaay back though. Before the pokedex, back before even Ash Ketchum started his journey." Tom paused, then chuckled, "before The Azure League was properly established. My dad encouraged me to become a trainer once he found out about my interest, but he would refuse to tell me any tips about the actual battles. 'It all comes with experience,' he said. That's true, but I was very frustrated back then, and did all I could to learn from the books. But *nothing* beats learning with your own pokemon."  
  
Shalla nodded. "How were they like? Your parents I mean."  
  
"My parents... Well they mostly treated me with respect, and cared for me, but they would get this sad look in their eyes every time I left my village for the annual pokemon camp."  
  
"They were afraid to lose you, to be unable to see you in the course of the years that is needed to actually become *someone*."  
  
"Yeah. You know, my father actually refused to tell me anything about his career as a trainer. My mother said that he was a great trainer though..."  
  
"Hm..."  
  
An somewhat awkward silence elapsed, during which the nurse called Tom to the counter to collect his pokemon. As Joy was about to turn away however, Tom interrupted her. "Um excuse me?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Well, I was just wondering, where is the gym? Its theme is poison, correct?"  
  
"Huh? Oh, you haven't challenged the leader yet. I thought, since you were healing your pokemon, that you had lost..."  
  
"*Lost*?!"  
  
"Don't be offended, but that's the natural assumption for this gym. There are two gym leaders, its rumoured that they were formerly part of Team Rocket's Elites, but ever since they became the gym leaders, the gym's record is almost unblemished. Out of ninety-seven challenges by forty different trainers, there has only been two trainers who walked away with the badge. One was Master Ketchum. The other was just a few months ago. Sorry, but I do not know his name... or even if it is a 'he'."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"He, or she wore a cape that hid most of his or her features. And after his gym battle, he pass one pokeball to me for recovery. You know what that means, of course."  
  
Tom gaped. **One* pokemon. He defeated the nearly invincible gym leaders with just one pokemon.*  
  
"Now don't get me wrong. The gym leaders play by the rules. But well... you'll see."  
  
Tom nodded, and grimaced. *No wonder so many people that start off in the Azure League end up going to the other leagues, getting into the top five, and using that to enter the Azure League Championships. This is one of the chokepoints. Out of the eighteen gyms, sixteen badges are enough to qualify, but people very often fail even to get that amount. Getting all eighteen badges means to go straight past the heats.*  
  
"Cheer up! You know the trainer that recently, won?"  
  
"Yeah?" Tom fully expected bad news, and was not fully disappointed.  
  
"Well, I heard he breezed through all eighteen gyms without using, at any time, more than three pokemon. In fact I highly suspect that those were the same three pokemon."  
  
*Oh brother, a guy who has three or more super pokemon, and is already in the championships. Great. One more rival.*  
  
A gloomy Tom trudged back to Shalla. Amused by his expression, she asked, "What's the matter? Daunted by the task? Just tell yourself that those two are NOT invincible, and neither are their pokemon, and you should be all right."  
  
"I'll try... But that is only part of what I'm worried about."  
  
***  
  
Tom look at the purplish building, constructed to look like a Muk, or just a pile of goo, Tom could not tell. Either way, as Shalla put it, "Its shapeless."  
  
Tom sighed, took a deep breath, preparing himself, and pushed the door open. It was easily moved, but looking closely, it seemed to be some sort of metal alloy, *a feet thick*. Tom shuddered; the door gave the impression of great weight, precisely balanced; well maintained.  
  
He looked forward and the sight pulled his attention away from the massive door.  
  
The entire gym was a pool of depths unknown, filled to the brim with a lavender slime. The gunk stank, and had little bubbles popping on its surface from time to time. A snaking path, apparently the same material as the door, led to the trainer box, which was constructed of, again the same alloy. Small circular pillars extended, presumably from the bottom of the "pool" to just a feet above its surface. Numerous such platforms dotted the arena, each about five meters in diameter.  
  
In the opposite trainer box, two people stood tall. On Tom's left, a red head with long, curling hair crossed her arms, fire in her eyes, and a fiery aura surrounding her. The other had blue hair, and he had a cool, calculative look, calm and collected.  
  
  
They both nodded briefly, and shouted across the arena.  
  
"Two on Two, both out at once. No time limit."  
  
Once again, they mirror each other, and threw their pokeballs. One, a violet thing that looked like multiple balloons fused together. The other, a cobra with devilish patterns on its chest. *Wheezing and arbok. Damn. That wheezing can float; hard to reach in this arena. And arbok... I don't know what it can do here, but I'm even more worried about the fact that the gym leaders don't mind letting me have my choice of pokemon after knowing theirs...*  
  
*Let's see. I will need versatile pokemon for this, but also an type advantage. That leaves only...*  
  
"Come on out." Tom hurled his pokeballs, only to find his aim slightly off the mark, and the balls plopping right into the toxic liquid. However, the automated devices opened up facing up, thus letting the alakazam and rhythor appear on platforms, and not in the pool. *Great start.*  
  
The gym leaders were nonplussed, but Tom was burning with embarrassment. He glared at the leaders, as if they were somehow responsible for the accident. "Ding!" The bell interrupted the tense silence of the moment, and signalled for the battle to commence.  
  
The arbok immediately plopped right into the toxic, probably feeling right at home in the vile substance. Wheezing started spewing smoke everywhere, and soon the entire arena was obscured from view. Tom grimaced. *As if having that sort of arena isn't enough, that wheezing had to go ahead and use a smog attack. Alakazam! Light screen.*  
  
Then, the poisonous atmosphere abruptly cleared, revealing alakazam, surrounded by the semi-transparent bubble. Rhythor was unaffected, instead charging up a positively huge orange sphere at the tip of his horn. Wheezing gazed at the rapidly expanding orb calmly, then its image shimmered, and ten or so "wheezings" winked into existence, arrayed against rhythor. Tom groaned, but rhythor, it seemed, had other plans and fired massive hyper beam anyway.  
  
Thick as a tree trunk, the shaft zipped at the right most duplicate, and struck, utterly destroying the image. But the beam did not stop, instead seeming to pause for a moment, and bent abruptly, nowing rushing through the aligned clones, killing six or so, before suddenly exploding. The real wheezing was hit, apparently, and Tom smiled in relief. The tactic was not infallible, and they were lucky it succeeded; it would not again.  
  
Tom returned his attention to the battle, and found the wheezing already recovering, and staring at rhythor menacingly, challenging him. Unable to resist, wheezing stared right back, and the two were locked in a contest of wills -- and pride. Tom chuckled. *Perfect. Come on. Confuse ray.*  
  
Rhythor did as instructed, smirking as his own eyes blazed with a variety of colours, momentarily blinding the hovering poison sack, and consequently, it floated out of control, slamming into the platform. The female gym leader frowned at the turn of events, and called out a command, for the first time in the battle.  
  
"Surf."  
  
*What? Arbok can't use surf...* It dawned on him, and Tom screamed out, *Come ON. Alakazam, psychic to locate that arbok, and then teleport out of the way. Light screen for safety as well.*  
  
The only confirmation of that order, Tom received, was a simple nod, and alakazam was deep in a trance, his face a mask of concentration. His eyes were closed, but they snapped open quickly enough when the target was found... together with the incoming attack.  
  
It started as a swell on the surface, but soon grew to a wall of vile gloop. The miniature tidal wave paused for a moment, and then washed over the entire pool, leaving all the platforms hissing from the acid. Tom searched anxiously for any signs of his pokemon, but came up empty. Until...  
  
*Hey Tom, missed me?* Tom's head jerked up at the telekinetic pull, and saw his starting pokemon, floating in the air, surrounded by a violet flame. The radiance flared, then from below, a wheezing and arbok rose, immobile and muscles tensed, ready to break out. Alakazam waggled his fore-finger disapprovingly, and knotted his eyebrows. The two poison types accelerated, then heading towards the surface at insane speeds. At such high velocity, the liquid would be as hard as diamond, and the gym leaders winced, turning away as their pokemon crashed.  
  
Alakazam landed moments later, on the same platform as rhythor, and gave him a high-five... But their triumph was short lived. The wheezing rushed out of the pool just beside their platform, flashing a maniac grin. It flashed, and started shimmering. Tom's pokemon instinctively shielded themselves, as the opponent made one last kamikaze attack. Both went flying, plopping into the dense liquid without much of a splash. 


End file.
